Nobody's Someone
by Kidlet350
Summary: Naruto has always lived a painfully lonely life, where he feels as though not a single person cares for him. But is that really true! Especially when the entire village of Konoha is put into a position where they have to depend completely on Naruto. R&R!
1. Nobody's Someone

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… never will.**

**Chapter 1: Nobody's Someone**

Uzumaki Naruto, a young boy, about thirteen years old, awoke one morning when the fluorescent rays of the morning sun outside the open widow illuminated his entire bedroom. He sat up in his bed and yawned, covering his mouth with his hand. He opened his eyes and ever-so-slightly squinted, allowing his eyes to grow accustomed to the light. He lifted his arms up into the air and stretched as he did every morning. Slowly removing the sheets from his body, he slid his feet towards the side of his bed and stood up.

Taking one single step forward, he wobbled a bit and finally regained his balance. Walking towards the door, he put his hand out and reached for the knob. When it finally touched his hand, he turned it and walked through the currently open door. Through the door, Naruto was immediately in the living room which was directly next to the kitchen and the small dining area, in his tiny one-person apartment.

He looked to the left and saw the kitchen. A weak smile grew upon Naruto's face when he saw the only cupboard. He ran to it and opened it excitedly. Upon opening it, his eyes grew wider and they suddenly curved as an enormous grin came upon his shining face.

"Ohayo, my fellow ramen!" he shouted as he extended an arm up to grab a container of Cup Ramen out of the cupboard. He opened the paper top halfway and boiled some water on the stove. After about five minutes of waiting for the water to completely boil, he removed it from the stove-top and poured some into the container. Placing the hot water back onto the stove, he averted his eyes to the clock that hung on the wall next to the cupboard. _Come on, clock! Tick faster! _He thought impatiently. Naruto looked down at the cup of ramen. Then back at the clock. Suddenly, he found himself frantically looking back and forth waiting for the three minutes to go by.

_Aww damn it! Why is it that time always decides to take it's time when I'm anticipating something? _He thought again. He looked back up at the clock. _Thirty more seconds…_ his gaze seemed to have frozen upon staring at the second hand ticking… ticking so… slowly. _Fifteen…_ he thought. Then he counted down out loud, "Nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… on-" he cut himself off when he noticed that the second hand had completely stopped ticking all together! "WHAT? How could this happen?" He narrowed his eyelids and glared at the clock. "I knew you weren't ticking at the normal speed! Baka!" He yelled at the clock. "Well, I couldn't expect anything more from something I bought at a used dollar store. Then he remembered his ramen. _That means that my ramen is long-since ready to be eaten!_ He thought in his head.

Forgetting about the broken clock, he picked up a pair of chopsticks and a carton of milk and sat down at the table. Naruto tore the paper lid completely off and set it down on the table next to the carton of milk. He reached his chopsticks into the cup and scooped up a pile of noodles that he slurped up into his mouth. Afterwards he took a sip from the milk carton. He put the milk carton back onto the table and smiled greatly while he said aloud to no one, "Nothing beats waking up to zero clouds in the sky and a cup full of ramen!"

Naruto quickly slurped up the rest of his breakfast and walked into the living room. He sat on the couch and looked up with his hands resting underneath his head. In looking up, he came across a note he had forcefully carved into the ceiling with a kunai about six months before. The inscription read, "It isn't my fault everyone sees me as something I am not. But why do they all hate me for it?" He frowned at the sight of it, his happy, playful mood completely changing into a serious and… even sad expression.

He rolled over onto his side and put his hands underneath his ear. Then he thought to himself. _It's true, though. I don't understand why everyone hates me because of something I'm not… it isn't fair. I'm sure even Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi all hate me too… but they just don't show it. Why is it always me?_ He sighed and held in tears that begged for him to let them escape. _I won't cry. I can't cry. Crying means that I am weak. Is that the reason? Why everyone despises me so? Because I'm… weak? Am I a coward… a failure? That's it… everyone sees me as someone incapable of succeeding. Even if it is, I won't let that be the reason!_ He decided that being weak was not an option for him. If people wanted a stronger Naruto, then well… they would get one. If that was what it would take to get the people of Konohagakure to like him, then that is what he would do. His attitude may not change, but he would definitely try much harder than before. He sat up and slid his feet to the edge of the couch so that they touched the floor. He crossed his arms and leaned over.

Sighing, he then stood up and looked at the clock that wasn't already broken. It read: Seven o' clock AM. He realized it was way past time for him to get to the bridge where he was to meet his team so he slowly walked to his bedroom and changed into his usual orange jumpsuit and tied his Konoha forehead protector to his head. He put his shoes on and walked out the door, certainly not in the least excited about going to see, let alone talk to anyone.

As he walked out the front door, he took his first breath of morning air. He sighed, remembering to display his daily fake façade to fool everyone into believing he was happy all of the time. If he showed that he was lonely all the time… then people would laugh at him even more, so he pretended that everyone's hate didn't affect him, yet for some reason, they still seemed to laugh. He let out a deep breath and stuffed his hands in his pockets, walking down the streets that led him to the bridge.

Finally, a small bridge came into view and he vaguely spotted two figures standing above it. One of them was another boy, the same age as Naruto and had ebony black hair, and deep eyes, same color as his hair. He wore a shirt the color of water, about one thousand feet below the water's surface, and beige-colored shorts. His name was Sasuke… Uchiha Sasuke. He was considered Naruto's rival, but inside they both had always considered each other friends, though they may not have showed it.

The other was a girl, also thirteen, who had pink hair, which strongly resembled cherry blossoms. She wore a red dress, decorated with little white designs here and there that went just below her knees. _Her_ name was Haruno Sakura. Naruto used to have the biggest crush on Sakura until he realized how much she, along with everyone else hated him. Realizing she would never give into him, he completely gave up on all hope of winning her heart. When he was finally within earshot, Sasuke and Sakura both heard him coming so they turned around to acknowledge him. Naruto implanted a tremendous smile on his face and he waved his hand, high in the air. He then ran up to them both and greeted them excitedly, "Ohayo, Sasuke-kun!" He looked over at Sakura. "Sakura-chan." He said, nodding his head as a way of saying hello.

Sasuke nodded back to him and Sakura smiled. "What's wrong, Naruto? You're almost as late as Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke asked him, a smirk appearing on his face.

"I woke up late! So what?" he shouted back. He clenched his fist and slightly narrowed his eyes. Sasuke barely chuckled and then Naruto averted back to his previous smile. It was a dumb thing to get angry about, anyway. Sakura also gave out a small laugh. Naruto looked straight and suddenly saw a flash of light on the other side of the bridge. Sakura and Sasuke though, did not see, being that they were both facing Naruto. He then looked to the left and saw another flash of light. However this one was different than the other. Afterwards, four different flashes, in four different areas occurred. Realizing what was happening, Naruto's eyes widened and he froze.

"Naruto-kun? What is it?" Sakura asked him, determined to know why he froze like that. Sakura turned around, but she didn't see anything. She looked back at Naruto who was looking straight up at the sky, counted the clouds. He spoke quietly, barely loud enough for either of the others to hear, "Three… four… five…" he paused and then spoke up, "Six clouds!"

"Naruto, is this just another one of your random episodes?" Sasuke asked, emotionlessly. Naruto looked straight again, eyes still wide open. He lifted a finger as a sign saying "wait", but didn't move his eyes. This was his chance. Not only was he going to do this because he wanted to prove his strength, but also because he felt obligated to protect a friend. _Hell, he probably does hate me... _Naruto's thoughts were cut off just at his target got close enough. Naruto jumped into the air. While mid-air, he grabbed a kunai from his pouch and twirling it around his finger, he completed his thought. …_but he is the closest thing to a friend that I've got! I can't let him down!_ He landed on the ground behind Sasuke. Sasuke turned around and saw Naruto, turned the opposite direction of him, holding a kunai as if it were stabbed into something… or someone.

"Naruto-kun! Stop screwing around," Sakura shouted, "you're embarrassing me."

"I'm not screwing around." Naruto stated, sounding slightly angry. "Can you honestly not see?" Sasuke glared, either because he thought Naruto was just pulling a prank, or because Naruto could see something that he could not. Sakura shook her head back and forth, a confused expression in her eyes. Naruto removed his hand from the kunai but it didn't fall to the ground. Instead, it appeared to be floating in the air. Sasuke was right. There _was_ something he could not see. But what was it? Or who for that matter?

Hey, everyone! Kidlet, here! I really want to know if I should continue or not so please review! Thank you!


	2. Realization

**Thanks for all of the _one _review I got. Heh… anyway, the one single review I received requested that I do continue, so here I am… chapter 2. Enjoy. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… never will.**

**Chapter 2: Realization**

Sasuke was right. There _was _something he could not see. But what or who was it?

Naruto gripped his hand around the kunai again and removed it from its place. Just then, Sasuke and Sakura heard a thump so they looked to the ground. Suddenly, a masked man with dark hair was seen lying on the ground, dead. Confused, they both looked up at Naruto.

"But… how did you see him?" Sakura asked him. Then she continued, "neither Sasuke nor I saw him… or even sensed his chakra." Naruto looked at her, and then to Sasuke. Sasuke showed almost no emotion on his face, but in his deep eyes, Naruto barely sensed something… though he wasn't sure what it was.

"Well it makes sense that you can't sense them… or see them." He said, noticing something both Sasuke and Sakura had not.

"And why is that?" Sasuke asked, hoping he was not going to make some stupid comment.

"Well… because there are five more of them. He pointed in five different places. "There, there, there, there and… there." Sakura looked in a few of the places to which Naruto had pointed. She could not see a thing. She squinted her eyes to focus better on the trees. Nothing… she still saw absolutely nothing. That wasn't good. Neither Sasuke nor Sakura could see a thing. Did that mean that they were totally dependant on Naruto? That was a first. _But… _Sakura thought. _There's always a first time for everything._

"It's strange… they are each surrounded by a blue aura… but," he paused.

"But, what?" Sasuke asked sounding someone impatient.

"But… it isn't chakra. That's why you two couldn't sense them. It isn't chakra emitting from each of them… it's more like, they're powering up for some kind of attack." Naruto suggested, not positive of his words.

Sasuke looked over to Naruto. _Wow… he actually sounds like he knows what he's talking about!_ He thought. He trusted Naruto in this. It didn't take much effort for him to kill the first one, so five others shouldn't be too difficult for him. Though, he did want to help.

"There's no time to lose. You've got to move get somewhere safe. I can handle this." Naruto advised them. He looked at them with determination. Sasuke gave him a look that expressed trust, and he and Sakura turned to hide behind a tree Naruto had pointed them to. Naruto's eyes barely grew wider at the look Sasuke had given him. _It was probably a fake. He doesn't want to die so he thinks that if I think he trusts me, then I'll get through this easily. _Once again, he felt alone. He looked around and wondered if one of them would come to him, or if he would have to go after them. He decided not to move, because if he did, then one of them _would_ take advantage of his absence and go after his teammates.

He didn't move an inch. His eyes watched, back and forth while he waited for one to attack. Suddenly, two of them ran up to him at the exact same time. He was mostly confidant that he would beat them, but part of him was afraid that they might be stronger than the first one he took down. They ran at him with killer intent and he grabbed four shurikens from his pouch. Two in one hand and two in the other. He firmed his grip on the ground and held them out. Just as they both seemed to approach, he quickly released the shurikens from his left hand, followed by the ones from his right.

Meanwhile, his two teammates watched from afar. They both noticed that all four shurikens stopped mid-air so they immediately knew they all hit their targets. Sasuke was surprised and almost… impressed, with Naruto's actions. Although they weren't dead yet. The shurikens only slowed his targets down. Naruto then lifted his arms up into a cross-like hand position. He then recited the words, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," which also means, Shadow Replication Technique. Suddenly, multiple Narutos, almost clones you could say, appeared and ran at the targets with killer intent.

_That same technique, again, Naruto? How un-original. _Sakura thought.

Each individual Naruto found a target and fixed their eyes on them. They all grabbed their kunais and stabbed them into the hearts of the intruders. It was almost too easy. Yet, one of them actually managed to dodge and got away, without Naruto knowing it had happened. When he thought he was finally finished, each Naruto disappeared and left just one, panting, still standing on the bridge. He looked around and saw four bodies lying dead on the ground. Wait a minute… four? Naruto re-counted them. He didn't just count them wrong. Only five of them were dead, including the first one who went after Sasuke. Naruto looked up and counted one single cloud in the sky. _Damn it!_ He thought. Where is he? I can't see or sense him anywhere. For some reason, Naruto could not spot any blue auras anywhere. He wanted to say, more than anything, that it was over and everyone was safe, but unfortunately he couldn't.

Suddenly, a tall man with long, spiky, silver hair showed up and slightly startled Naruto. He had a Konoha forehead protector on, but it covered his left eye and he also wore a mask over his mouth and nose that extended into his turtleneck ninja suit. He also wore shorts and a dark green vest. Naruto grabbed another kunai from his pouch and pointed it up at the man.

"Oh, it's only you, Kakashi-sensei." He stated, relieved that it was just his teacher, as opposed to being the sixth man.

"Ohayo, Naruto. Where are the others?" He asked.

"They're hiding. I'll explain everything in a minute but I need to finish something."

"Naruto… the reason I'm late…" he was about to tell Naruto the reason when Naruto interrupted him.

"Don't worry sensei. I don't need to hear another one of your fake excuses. Please, let me concentrate." Naruto said, half-heartedly.

"No, Naruto. There's something you should know. It's vital to your safety…" He paused to pull out his favorite adult rated novel, "Icha Icha Paradise". Then he was about to continue when instead he was cut off, but this time instead of being calm, a screaming Naruto startled him.

"Sensei! Watch out! Behind you!" He yelled, hoping his sensei would duck out of the way. Kakashi's reflexes were amazing! He pulled a kunai out from his pouch and stabbed it behind him, hoping to strike the neck area. Just before, he felt a slight burning sensation on the hand that held his novel and he dropped it to the ground, face down. He turned around, puzzled to see that… he could not see anything. He pulled the kunai away, which he could have sworn was stabbed into something. Dropping it on the ground, he heard someone say, "If you can… then you must really be him. It's a shame you couldn't have provided much more entertainment than this."

Kakashi looked back at Naruto when he heard him reply angrily, "Yeah. It's me. It's too bad I couldn't have had fun with it, you're right. But things like you just aren't worth my time." Then they both heard a loud thump and Kakashi finally saw someone, lying dead on the ground in front of them.

"I know what you were going to say, Sensei." He gave a small chuckle at his next comment. "Don't worry, I already know." He said sarcastically. Though Naruto could not see it very well, because it was covered by his mask, Kakashi gave a weak smile. Naruto looked up to the sky and saw nothing but blue… Sky blue. All of the clouds were gone which meant that they were safe. He looked to the ground, and then back up at Kakashi.

"Uh… Sensei…?" Naruto asked hesitantly as he picked up his master's favorite novel off of the ground. Or rather, as he picked up his master's favorite, yet _scorched_ novel off of the ground. Kakashi looked at him with a tired eye. But then it grew wider when he saw what Naruto was handing him. Once again, he couldn't really notice it, but his jaw dropped a little.

While Kakashi was staring at the burnt remnants of his book, Naruto looked over to the area where Sasuke and Sakura were hiding. "You know… you guys can come out now." He assured them. Just as they started to walk back, Kakashi's expression changed and what they could see of his face lit up.

"Oh yes! I almost forgot!" he said, his visible eye curving a little. Pulling out something from a different pouch, that was strapped to his hip he added, "I always keep a spare in case something like this happens!" He gave a chuckle as he opened his book to the page he was last on. In reading it, Sasuke and Sakura finally approached next to Naruto and their sensei.

"You know… Kakashi-sensei. Sometimes it would be a better idea to come early… in case something like this happens." Sakura advised to her teacher who was currently giggling like a little girl in reading his novel. She glared at him, noticing that he hadn't heard a word she had said. She grabbed the book from Kakashi's grip and closed it.

"Hey! Sakura! You put that down, it is inappropriate for you to read it!" he shouted at her, holding his hand out as if longing to reach it once again.

"If it's inappropriate, then why are you reading it?" She asked him with a smirk.

Kakashi only returned the smirk with a smirk of his own and replied cleverly, "Because… I can."

Sakura sighed and handed the novel back to him. Naruto and Sasuke's jaws dropped a little at seeing what Sakura had just done. No body… _Ever _takes Kakashi's book and gets away with it. _No one._

Sasuke's expression changed back to normal when he looked at Naruto, whose jaw was still open. He was staring at him. Uchiha Sasuke, of all people was staring at Naruto. He was dumbfounded by a sudden shock that ran through him and for some reason he found it difficult to look away from him. Naruto noticed his gaze and turned to see what was wrong.

"Uh, Sasuke?" he asked.

"What is it?" he was knocked out of his trance when Naruto spoke. Sasuke almost shivered at the sound of his voice. What was this? Why did he all of a sudden feel so stunned by a mere teammate? By a rival?

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked him.

Sasuke scavenged his brain for ideas. He had to say something that would sound like himself. He finally came up with a clever remark. "You know, if you keep your mouth open long enough, a fly just _might_ fly in."

Naruto glared at him a little before turning around. For some reason, Sasuke was entranced by every move he made and his face slightly turned a darker shade of red. What was happening to him? Why did he feel so obligated to gaze at every inch of his comrade? He shook it off and then remembered what had happened.

Naruto, also not completely aware of what happened, himself, turned back around and faced Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei, do you have any information about the people… or whatever they were… that just attacked us?"

Kakashi looked up from his reading and answered, "Yes, I do. Naruto, I do not know who they are or where they are from but I was just informed that there has been record of random massacres that have occurred recently and nobody ever saw who it was that attacked. They recently found out that there is only one thing that can see the culprits, and that, Naruto, is the demon fox that remains inside of you, to this day. It is said that when they are spotted, the amount of them there are, is the exact amount of clouds there are in the sky."

"Ah, yes. I remember reading of that in the newspaper… that is how, for some reason I knew to count the clouds when I saw random flashes of light." Naruto exclaimed.

"Yes, well… apparently they are after the Kyuubi inside of you and they are said to be nearly impossible to defeat. You and hopefully with the help of our team will remain safe until something is done about it."

"Nearly impossible to defeat? Then how exactly do you explain the fact that I just killed five of them?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Perhaps you defeated them easily because you are the one who had the Kyuubi attached to your soul." Kakashi suggested.

"So what do we all do if more show up and none of us can see them except for him?" Sasuke asked, slightly angry that he felt powerless and could not protect even himself.

"In that situation, I cannot tell you what you should do. I would say to just depend on Naruto to help you find who you are trying to defeat." Kakashi replied. Sasuke looked rather agitated and Naruto used that as yet another hint that told him that no body cared. If Sasuke did care, then he wouldn't be so upset to have to depend on Naruto. That was how Naruto thought.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto who was looking down and almost looked… depressed. For some strange reason, Sasuke felt the urge to comfort him and make him feel better, but his legs were frozen stiff and all he could do was stare. The excited Naruto was gone, and all Sasuke could see was bitterness. "Hey, Dobe. What's the problem?" he asked, trying to sound normal. Naruto looked up and smiled.

"Nothing. I was only thinking." Naruto replied, happily. Though this happiness was just another addition to his façade, none of them knew. His hopes of fooling everyone into thinking he was always happy had worked.

Sasuke faintly smiled and thought, _Naruto looks so cute when he smiles like that…_ he interrupted his thoughts with a different one. _Wait a minute… I, Uchiha Sasuke… did NOT just refer to Naruto as… cute…_ he faintly shivered as he thought it over again. His cheeks turned a slight color of red again when the thought ran through his mind over and over. Unfortunately he was still looking at Naruto when this occurred. Sasuke felt his face getting warmer and his eyes grew wider as he looked away from Naruto. _Damn, Naruto… did you just make me… blush?_ He thought. _No… it's only my imagination, I'm sure of it. _But really, he was not so sure.

Naruto saw Sasuke staring at him. _I hate it when he does that. He's been doing it a lot recently, too. Whenever he stares at me, it looks as though he is truly laughing inside. Laughing… at me. At my pathetic life. My pathetic everything. I wish he wouldn't do that and at least acted like he cared._

Sakura realized that she had mostly only been sitting and listening to their conversation and as soon as it became silent, she broke it. "Kakashi-sensei, what are we going to be doing today?"

Kakashi once again looked up from his book and rested his hand underneath his chin, thinking. "I think… due to the fact that there are invisible assassins running around, we should take the day off. Hell, if you're good, I might even let you take tomorrow off as well." The three genins' faces lit up. Though Naruto's face lit up ten times brighter when Kakashi added, "If you guys want, I can take you out to get some ramen, if you're hungry that is."

"Ramen!" Naruto shouted. Happiness flowed through his body when he heard Kakashi say the infamous word.

Sasuke said nothing, while Sakura spoke, "Sorry, but if we are really taking the day off today, there is somewhere that I _really_ need to be."

Kakashi nodded and Sakura ran off. "I guess this means that I'm taking just the two of you out?" Naruto had a huge smile on his face while Sasuke only smirked and watched the adorable koorime jump up and down excitedly. (_Sasuke: Baka! Did you just say adorable? Author: Why, yes I did. Sasuke: Well I don't think he is… Author: Too bad. Besides, if you didn't think he was then why is your face bright red? Sasuke: Grrr!) _He said nothing

"Well, then let's go." Kakashi said while standing up. Naruto punched into the air with pure excitement.

On the way to Ichiraku, the local ramen shop, Kakashi lead the way while Naruto followed him with his hands resting behind his head. Sasuke walked a good distance behind the two admiring every step that the young blonde took.

_I cannot be falling for that baka. He is so worthless. I, Uchiha Sasuke, do not have a weakness. Then again, all weaknesses become strength in some way. What am I thinking? I can't fall for Naruto. He's just so… annoying… and loud… and… perfect… angelic… and… _Sasuke held out his hand, longing to run his fingers through his soft looking hair, and soothe his fingertips across his smooth skin. Sasuke practically kicked himself for thinking such things about his rival. He felt his face becoming faintly warmer and he attempted to snap out of it when they finally spotted the ramen shop.

Sasuke put his hand back down to his side and just after, Naruto turned around and excitedly shouted, "Sasuke, pick up the pace, will ya? Look, there's Ichiraku, the best ramen selling shop in the world!" Sasuke practically melted inside Naruto's smile. His smile made him smile. He gratefully picked up his pace and caught up with Naruto. He was now walking right beside him, but he forbade himself to stare. He looked down at Naruto's hand. It looked so soft and warm. How his fingers longed to interlock with his. But he couldn't. It would be too awkward.

Finally, the three ninjas had reached Ichiraku and had already sat down. Naruto ordered one of everything, and Kakashi and Sasuke figured they would each choose one from Naruto's bunch, leaving Naruto to finish the rest.

Kakashi and Sasuke had both finished their bowls of ramen and Naruto was already halfway done with his last bowl. Sasuke still felt a little hungry though. Sasuke watched Naruto slurp up a couple of noodles.

"Um, Naruto?" Sasuke asked somewhat shyly.

"Yeah?" Naruto replied. He was a little bit shocked however, being that Sasuke had actually called him by his name instead of Baka or Dobe.

"Uh… a- are-" oddly, he found himself stuttering. He caught himself and instantly changed back to normal. "Are you going to finish that?"

Naruto looked at the bowl of ramen and heard Sasuke's stomach growl very quietly. "You're still hungry, aren't you?" he asked rhetorically.

Sasuke barely nodded his head in response to Naruto's question. Naruto sighed, not because he was sad, but because he felt bad for eating so much while his teammate was still hungry. Naruto looked down at the bowl of ramen and then back up to Sasuke. Sasuke bit his lip at the sight of Naruto's gaze. Naruto then slid the bowl of ramen over to Sasuke and smiled cunningly. Sasuke smiled back and for the first time between the two, they both exchanged a look of happiness and trust. It was a new feeling for Naruto. He enjoyed it. Even if it was fake. Even if Sasuke didn't really mean to smile like that. He enjoyed it while it lasted. The two genins shared the bowl of ramen until it was completely gone.

Sasuke then looked over to Naruto. He smiled very faintly. "Hey Naruto?" he began.

"Yeah? What is it?" Naruto asked him.

"I was just wondering if-"

**Hehe there's chapter two for you. I really hope you liked it. I sort of left a cliffie at the end just to test the reaction. Please, PLEASE review. It means a lot!**


	3. Always a First for Everything

**Hey, everyone! Here's chapter three for ya!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… never will.**

**Chapter 3: Always a First for Everything…**

"I was just wondering if," Sasuke paused and thought about what he was going to say, "never mind, I'll just ask later." He finished.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow and then turned back around to face his sensei. He was reading his book, not paying attention to either of the boys. Naruto stood up and walked outside. Sasuke's eyes followed him and he wanted to go to him and ask him what was wrong. Kakashi though, still hadn't noticed.

"Sensei, we'll be right back." Sasuke said to Kakashi who only nodded. "Naruto…" he began when he approached Naruto's side. Naruto looked up. Sasuke looked into his deep sky blue orbs and noticed something he had never noticed before. It was the faintest hint of sadness that corrupted his eyes. The sparkle in them was gone, yet Naruto was still smiling. Sasuke continued, "W- what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong…" Naruto replied "I just… needed fresh air." Sasuke looked at Naruto with such intensity. He didn't smile. He only stared, knowing that Naruto was hiding something.

"That's really believable" Sasuke said sarcastically. "Now will you tell me what's really wrong?" Naruto looked confused and happy all at the same time, but the sparkle was still absent from his eyes.

"I mean it… nothing is wrong." Naruto couldn't tell Sasuke how he was really feeling at that time. It would totally ruin everything and Sasuke would only laugh at him more. It would be just another reason to be made fun of.

Sasuke looked him in the eyes and assured him, "I'm not going to tell anyone, if you _do _tell me. I have no one to tell." Naruto almost had second thoughts about telling Sasuke, but then remembered that if he told _him_ then _he _would laugh. One person was just as bad as one hundred people laughing at him. So he kept his mouth shut.

"It's nothing, Uchiha!" he shouted at Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened at what he had called him, but then changed back to normal and looked him in the eyes once again.

"Then why is the sparkle in your eye gone?" he questioned him. Naruto looked away.

_That doesn't sound like the voice of someone who is laughing inside. He almost sounds… concerned. He couldn't be concerned… not for me, anyway. No one ever cares._ He thought. Then he decided that he would try to tell him. Sasuke was persistent in these matters.

"It's just that…" Naruto didn't look at Sasuke. "That… ah, never mind." He changed his mind and took a couple steps away.

Sasuke put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "It's alright, Naruto. You can trust me." Naruto's eyes widened at these words. Did he mean that _he_ trusted him? Suddenly Naruto felt tired. He sat down on a rock just a couple feet away and decided he wanted to go home. Suddenly, Kakashi walked out from Ichiraku and looked at the two boys.

"You two look tired. You should go home and rest." He told them. "I'm going back to my place, so you know where I am if you need me." He winked at them with his visible eye and walked away.

"Thanks for lunch…" Naruto shouted back to his teacher. Kakashi only waved as a "you're welcome" while he walked away. Naruto didn't look at Sasuke, but he spoke to him. "Hey, Sasuke?" he asked.

"Yeah?" he replied.

"What were you trying to ask me earlier?" Naruto asked, curiously.

"Oh…" he began. "Well, I was just wondering if you want me to…" he paused, not positive he wanted to ask what he was going to. Naruto looked at him when he paused. He couldn't say it. It was too weird. "Never mind," Naruto looked disappointed. Then he finally came up with a solution. He would wait until Naruto decided to leave.

Not too long after, there had been nothing but silence, so Naruto stood up. "I'm going to go now. See you later, Uchiha." He said, sounding sad again. Uchiha… he had never called Sasuke by his last name before. Now was finally his time, though.

Sasuke ran up to his teammate and started to walk beside him.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked him.

"Well, I'm walking." Sasuke said sarcastically.

Naruto glared at Sasuke and stopped walking. Sasuke took a few steps forward and then finally stopped. He turned to the side.

Naruto looked as though he was expecting Sasuke to say something. Sasuke caught on to Naruto's gestures, but he didn't say anything and made sure he didn't seem different than his normal self. He smirked.

"Why are you walking with me?" Naruto finally asked.

Sasuke smirked again. "Two reasons," he began. "One is because I'm overwhelmingly bored," he paused and thought. "And then the other is because I want to ask you something."

Naruto suddenly froze at his words. _Sasuke_ wanted to ask _him _something. What could Sasuke possibly want to ask the "worthless baka"? Naruto only stood there. His expression changed from an intense glare, to the curious little Kyuubi. He walked up to Sasuke and stood next to him, but he didn't look him in the eyes. He looked straight and asked him, sounding somewhat serious, "What is it? That you wanted to ask me?"

Sasuke's smirk was gone. Instead, he stared into Naruto's eyes, though he did not return his gaze, he asked him, "How is it… that you are always so happy? You never seem upset about anything…" Naruto's eyes widened when he heard this.

"Why do you need to know?" He sounded faintly annoyed.

"I don't need to know. I only want to know how it is possible for someone to always be so happy."

Naruto paused and his expression changed to sadness. He looked down and began to speak, "I'm… I'm not always happy." He wasn't sure whether or not he wanted to continue. Sasuke was one of them who would always make fun of his pain without showing it. Sasuke waited for him to continue but he stayed quiet.

"What do you mean…?" Sasuke asked him.

Naruto somehow thought that Sasuke wouldn't laugh if he told him. He based his idea off of the tone in his voice… once again, he almost sounded… concerned. "I'm not always happy…" he repeated. "In fact… now that I think about it… I'm… never really excited about anything." He turned and walked away from Sasuke to a bench that was only a few feet away from where they were standing. Sasuke walked over and sat down beside Naruto, crossing his arms.

Naruto hesitantly continued. He was about to tell him everything… everything that had to do with why he was always so down. But then he changed his mind. "Sometimes though, because of people like you and Sakura-chan who don't show much excitement either, I have to pretend like there is yet some light to be seen. I have to be the one to smile when no body else will. That's all." Naruto lied about his last two words. He strained to look as far away from Sasuke as possible. He made sure that he couldn't see his face… for if he had, he would instantly know how Naruto felt about his life. About everything, and Naruto could not let that happen.

Naruto couldn't believe that he had just told Sasuke what he did. He never thought he would tell anybody, because he never thought anybody would care. Sasuke probably didn't. But that didn't make much of a difference to Naruto. He was used to it, though it still scarred his mind and he felt an emotional burning sensation every time he thought about everyone who had turned their backs and said something like, "get away from me you beast." He remembered all of the little kids around the village when he was little also. They used to run to him, but just like the obeying children they were, they turned back around when their parents told them it wasn't good to play with "things" like him. He cringed at the thought of people referring to him as an object… as a demon… as a monster.

Sasuke was somewhat surprised when Naruto spoke the words he had. _He was never happy? How could that be when every time I look at him, his eyes shine and his smile covers his entire face? What sense does that make?_ Sasuke looked at Naruto but he couldn't think of anything to say. He could tell that for sure there was more that Naruto wanted to tell him, but he was holding back for some reason. This made Sasuke somewhat sad. He knew there was more, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good because Naruto couldn't seem to say another word. Sasuke closed his eyes and smiled. He didn't know what he could do to make him feel better about whatever was wrong, but he would have to try.

"Naruto…" he began. Naruto attempted to change his expression, and looked up at Sasuke. "Here, let me…" it was almost difficult for him to spit it out. "Let me walk you home. I've got nothing better to do." Sasuke stood up and Naruto grew a confused smile. He was happy… for once that someone offered to do something with him… but he didn't know why he would.

"Yeah…" Naruto said. He hadn't a clue of what else to say. He stood up next to Sasuke and they both began walking.

The entire time, neither of them spoke a single word. Naruto only thought about why he had told Sasuke partly about how he felt in the first place, and Sasuke only thought about how there was more to it than what Naruto had told him. He also couldn't help but question himself about why in the world he was being so nice to Naruto. Also because of the things he kept thinking about him. It was as if, all of a sudden, he had begun to like Naruto… maybe even seemed to love him… but why? _What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I all of a sudden feeling such emotion towards Naruto… how does he affect me so?_ He couldn't believe himself every time thought that he actually cared for the kitsune.

They had been walking for at least ten minutes and still, neither of them spoke. That is… until Naruto turned around and looked at Sasuke as though he wanted to say something but once again he was holding back. Sasuke gazed into his icy blue orbs with such intensity. Naruto forgot to blink… and for a second, he felt his face turn slightly red. What was going on? Was it because Sasuke seemed to care for a moment… it was party that… but it was also something else. Something he had never felt before…

**Hehe there's chapter two for you. I really hope you liked it. I sort of left a cliffie at the end just to test the reaction. Please, PLEASE review. It means a lot!**


	4. Expect the Unexpected

**Hey everyone! Here's chapter four for ya!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… never will.**

**Chapter 4: Expect the Unexpected**

Confused in himself, Naruto averted his gaze from the raven haired boy, to the ground below him. The sky seemed to become darker, though it was only noon. Sasuke looked up and noticed the dark clouds hovering above their shivering bodies. _Hn… it's going to rain soon…_ he thought. _Why am I just standing here? Shouldn't I be moving? Moving into some kind of shelter?_ Sasuke thought. He almost considered going into Naruto's house but that would be considered inviting himself, so he decided otherwise. Naruto didn't notice the dark sky. It seemed to mold together with everything else in his life… purely cold and dark.

"Are you going to go inside?" Sasuke asked him, partly sad that he was going to have to leave. Naruto looked up. When he heard Sasuke _finally_ break the silence, he blushed a little at the sound of his smooth, yet still somewhat cold voice.

"Oh… yeah…." He shouted as if he had trailed off before Sasuke spoke. He turned around and ran to the front door of his apartment. Part of him did not want to enter this place, because this was the place where he encountered every nightmare, the place where his tears had already stained his pillows and blankets many times… and mostly, the place where he felt more alone than anywhere else. It was the place where no one was ever expected to visit, the place where the "demon" resided. Then he remembered Sasuke, and how it almost seemed as though he slightly cared. Just as he put his hand on the door knob, he turned around and faced his teammate who was just starting to walk away.

"Sasuke…" he called. "wait!" he shouted before Sasuke could get more than a couple steps away. Sasuke turned to the side and looked at his friend. Yes, he thought of him somewhat as a friend. He waited for Naruto to say something.

"Uh," he began, slightly stuttering. "Th-thank y-you…" he finally spat it out. Sasuke smirked.

"Anything…" he began. "for a friend…" Sasuke then turned back around and walked casually away, as if he didn't believe that what he had said would have any major affect on him, but really he knew. And really, it did.

"Naruto's eyes grew wider and he watched Sasuke walk down the street. Suddenly, water started to pour from the clouds and it smacked the ground, hard. Sasuke still walked though, and didn't seem to care that the rain pelted his head and that he would soon be drenched from head-to-toe. Though, little did Naruto know, as Sasuke walked down that lifeless street, he wore a smile of contentment that no one had ever seen.

When Sasuke was out of sight, Naruto walked inside and closed the door behind him. He turned around and rested his forehead against the cold, hard, wooden front door. He sat there and thought about the words that had just escaped the raven-haired boy's lips. _Am I hearing things, or did he just call me his… friend? I'm no body's friend. All everybody sees me as is the thing inside of me. I can't help that it's there… it isn't like I wanted it…_ Naruto thought. He walked over to the couch and sat down just like he did that morning. His arms rested underneath his head, and he stared up at the ceiling. He read the note again and again, though he knew word for word what it said. He stared at it in anger and frustration. He closed his eyes and punched into the air, cursing to himself.

Sasuke did not live far from Naruto. It was only a few minutes of walking in the cold rain when he had finally reached his home. He walked inside and straight up into his room. He jumped up and fell on his back onto his bed. He only sat there and thought. _Why is it that the only thing I can think about is Naruto? It's strange, ever since this morning, I have felt some sort of feeling towards him that I've never felt towards anybody before. I may have felt something like this towards my clan, but this is sort of different. Oh, damn you Itachi… I will one day kill you! _He interrupted his own thoughts. _But enough about him right now… What should I do about Naruto? I think earlier I had discovered that I couldn't take my eyes off of him and that it meant that I was in some sort of trance... but does this honestly mean that I am… in lust… with him? No… for some reason, this feels more great than lust…_

Sasuke had quite a difficult time admitting that it was truly love that he was feeling. He clenched his fists and finally decided. _Damn, I don't want to do it, but there is only one way I can be positive about my own feelings. I have to assure myself._ Sasuke was a little bit hesitant, but when he thought of the risk he would be taking, part of him was telling himself that it would be worth it. Sasuke was going to visit Naruto's house.

Sasuke jumped through trees and atop buildings to avoid being easily seen and stopped in his tracks by crazed fangirls. Suddenly, a small apartment came into view and Sasuke stopped when he was not too far from the door. He was just about to set his hand on the door knob when he soon realized that the door would make it one hundred percent obvious that he was in his house. He looked around for a window and when he spotted one he walked to it. He stuck his head through the window and saw a bed with Naruto in it, eyes closed, breathing very subtly. Was he asleep? He wasn't sure, and he wasn't going to take a chance. He searched frantically for another window and he faintly saw the corner of one through the window he had already looked through. He walked to the other side of the apartment and entered through a small opened window.

When he finally got his whole body through the tight space, he made an attempt to land softly on the floor. He walked slowly and stealthily over to Naruto's open bedroom door and hid around the corner. He watched his teammate lying soundly in his bed and slightly forgot why he had gone in the first place. This was nothing too exciting. He turned his back against the wall and sighed just before he heard Naruto's voice.

"Sasuke… get down from there you're going to get hurt!" he shouted. Sasuke stayed as quiet as he possibly could as he waited for him to either get up or say something else. In hiding he sweatdropped out of pure nervousness and he wasn't sure of what to do. Naruto screamed and Sasuke could hear the faintest of sobs coming from the blonde haired boy. Slightly worried, Sasuke turned his head around the corner of the door frame and saw Naruto, eyes shut very tightly, sweating furiously and had what appeared to be tears flowing from his eyes to his pillow

"… Sasuke… please! Don't die! I need you to stay with me… please!" he shouted. Sasuke was then positive… they were tears. But Naruto was dreaming… or rather, having a nightmare… Sasuke's eyes slightly widened when Naruto yelled at him telling him not to die.

_But he's... crying. Crying… for me? Does he care about me? _Sasuke thought, sadness overcoming his every feature. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto sit up quickly from his bed, panting and sweating like crazy. He turned back around the corner as fast as he could, hoping Naruto hadn't seen him. Naruto sat on his bed, crying hysterically. Finally, when he was done crying, he stood up and walked out of his bedroom, still not noticing Sasuke's presence.

Naruto walked over to his couch. The same couch he sat on every time he felt lonely, or sad, or angry, or depressed… Every time he ever felt anything, and it was _never_ happiness. He stared up at the ceiling again and spoke the words engraved in it. "It isn't my fault everyone sees me as something I am not. But why do they all have to hate me for it?" he paused. Sasuke walked slowly to the end of the hallway where he could just barely make out the shape of Naruto's golden hair. He frowned when he heard what Naruto had said. What did he mean?

"Why?" Sasuke heard again. "Why is it that whenever someone makes me think that they care about me, something happens that convinces me otherwise? That's how it always is. I wish I could change what people thought of me. I didn't ask them all to hate me. I didn't ask for a demon to be placed inside of me. I didn't ask for any of this… but this is how it turned out." Naruto started to cry. "Damn it! I swore to myself that I wouldn't ever shed another tear! What's wrong with me!" he shouted. Sasuke frowned again. Seeing Naruto depressed was heartbreaking. He heard Naruto sniffle and he wanted to comfort him with all of his heart, but he couldn't. He subconsciously took a step forward, with all desire to make Naruto happy, but he then stepped back remembering Naruto didn't even know he was there.

_I finally know now... I was wrong. _Sasuke thought. _I'm not in lust…_ Sasuke never would have imagined himself feeling this way towards Naruto, but he did. _I'm… in love… after all of this time, it was right under my nose. His delicate face, his annoying yet enchanting voice, his strength…everything about him that has led up to this point makes me want to protect him with all of my power._ Sasuke turned around. _I guess now that I know, I can leave this place._ He started walking to Naruto's bedroom where he remembered being another window. He glanced back at Naruto and remembered his sadness. _One day, Naruto… I will make you happy._ He thought, just as he jumped out the window and headed for home.

Sasuke walked on the streets this time. He thought about whether or not Naruto would become a distraction to him. Somehow he feared that he would become one, but he would try his best to stay focused. Right then, he realized exactly why Sakura never participated much… she was having too much fun watching Sasuke then fighting. Sasuke couldn't let that happen to himself. He had to get stronger so that one day he could defeat his brother Itachi. That was the only thing he felt he had to live for. That is, until he realized Naruto was now a part of his life. He may not have ever been part of Naruto's life… but now it was the opposite.

He also thought about the things that Naruto said to himself when he was lying on the couch. He was sad because people hated him. _Am I one of them?_ He asked himself. _I don't remember ever hating him…_ he thought. Then he remembered all of the horrible things he had said and done to him… he felt ashamed and agreed that it most likely seemed as though he hated Naruto. He would change that though. He would make sure Naruto knew that Sasuke didn't hate him. He wished Naruto was happier. Out of all of the days he thought his happiness and excitement was annoying, but now that he wasn't happy, Sasuke wished he was. Even though he knew it was just a cover. That it was just a façade that fooled him and everyone else around. He frowned.

_He probably doesn't feel the same way about me. He probably still likes Sakura-chan. Though he hasn't acted like it recently… I wish I knew how I could make him happier without giving myself away. I don't think I can stand to have to see him like that again…_ Just thinking about it broke his heart. Part of him wanted him to know he was in his house, but the other part of him made sure that he didn't. He felt so confused and mixed up in all of the emotions he never imagined he was even capable of mustering up.

When Sasuke reached his house, he walked slowly to the door, still thinking about everything that had happened that day. Unsure of what else to do, he opened the door to see a rather surprising face. His eyes grew unimaginably wide and he practically fainted. Any emotion on his face was immediately changed to a different one… and one not all for the better.

Suddenly, the figure in front of the raven haired boy spoke. "Hello…" he began. "my foolish little brother…"

**Hehe there's chapter three for you. I really hope you liked it. I sort of left a cliffie at the end just to test the reaction. Please, PLEASE review. It means a lot!**


	5. Brother vs Brother

**Hey everyone! I would like to make a special shout out to SitDog-Boy because when I read her review, I felt motivated and somewhat obligated to continue righting. Obviously I was already going to continue, but I decided to continue directly after I read her review! Thanks a lot! Also, thank you so much for reviewing, all of you other people who have reviewed! It means so much and don't stop reading!**

**Hey everyone! Thanks so much for reviewing! Here's chapter five for ya!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… never will.**

**Chapter 5: Brother vs. Brother, a Lonely Possession**

Sasuke jumped back, for fear his brother would attack him instantly. He clenched his right fist at his side as he glared at his brother. Itachi only stared, his deep crimson eyes boring into his younger brother, as if he was desperate to tell him something, but he kept his mouth silent.

Itachi was wearing his usual black cloak with red clouds on it, signifying that he remained a member of the Akatsuki. The cloak was about mid-calf length but the neck of it covered his mouth and nose, leaving only his fearful, red Sharingan orbs to be seen, and most definitely feared by everyone who came within ten feet of them. Not a single trace of emotion could be seen through those eyes at that time. Not even hate.

"What do _you _want?" Sasuke growled, his glare growing yet even more intense by the second. When Itachi didn't answer him, Sasuke felt the overpowering urge to run at his brother and stab him through the heart. Before Itachi could make any big movements, Sasuke's grip on the ground failed and he glided across the ground with a kunai in his right hand, aimed for his older brother's heart. Then suddenly, stopped in between his swift movements, he found himself standing in front of Itachi, whose hand was wrapped tightly around the wrist that held the kunai. Sasuke only glared, for his hate and confusion wrapped up into one abnormal emotion expanded and he desperately waited for something to happen. Though, strangely he found it nearly impossible to move.

Sasuke closed his eyes as tight as he could, and tried his hardest not to make it seem as though he was afraid. The horrifying truth of that was, however, he was scared. For whatever reason Itachi had decided to return to Konoha, Sasuke didn't care. All he wanted was the chance to kill him, but at that moment, he had the disadvantage. How was he supposed to kill him, if his hand felt as if it would fall completely off if Itachi were to let go.

Suddenly, Sasuke felt his body being lifted from the ground and he soon found himself landing roughly on the floor inside the house with his back against the wall on the opposite side of where he previously stood. He was facing down, and a drop of blood escaped his lips as he panted furiously. Itachi closed the front door behind him and walked over to Sasuke, still having had not said a single word since Sasuke asked him for the reason he had come back. Itachi crouched down and tilted his little brother's head up with two fingers underneath his chin. Sasuke remained panting and Itachi could barely sense the faint feeling of fear emitting from his brother's dark eyes.

"I do not want to fight you." Itachi spoke calmly, sounding slightly irritated, however. Sasuke's expression did not change. He still gazed up at the other Uchiha and waited for him so say something else.

"I do _not _want to fight you." He repeated. Sasuke finally spoke, attempting at his calmest possible voice, which was difficult because he had hated his brother for so many years.

"Then…" he began. He took a deep breath to try to calm _way_ down. "what _do_ you want? Why did you come here?"

"Keep your hands off of the Kyuubi kid." Itachi warned. He smirked. "Keep your hands off of him, or I will kill him."

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, not showing confusion of any kind.

"I know that you feel for him. I can feel it in your blood." Itachi spoke calmly, pressing the two fingers that had just been holding his brother's head up, against his brother's neck, feeling his blood pulse. Sasuke glared and shook his head to shove Itachi's filthy murderous hands away from him.

"I don't know what you mean, _brother_. I don't feel anything for that worthless brat." He told, obviously lying. Itachi raised a hand and held it beside his own ear as if he were about to back-hand Sasuke. He quickly moved it towards his brother but stopped mid-thrust when he spoke again.

"This is only a warning. Either way I do not care how you feel towards him." He took his hand down and stood back up. Turning around and heading for the door, he finished, "But as I said before, if you go near _my_ Naruto again, I will kill him. After that I'll come and finish you off." Just before Itachi opened the door, he turned around and stared at Sasuke whose gaze did not avert a single time. Itachi smirked. "Now sleep." He hissed and Sasuke fell to the hard wood floor, unconscious as Itachi walked out the door.

oO Naruto's House Oo

Naruto sighed as he stood up from the couch. He walked over to the hallway where he had earlier sensed a familiar presence. Just when he reached the corner of the hallway, he breathed in the air and smelled an even more familiar scent.

"I knew it," Naruto began. The scent he had just taken in belonged to his comrade; to his teammate; his best friend; his rival. The scent belonged to Sasuke. "But… why would he want to come to _my_ house? What's so exciting about being here?" Naruto sighed again. He looked down to his feet. "He was here… so he most likely heard me crying." Another tear rolled down his face as he continued to speak to no body. "And then he left because he couldn't hold in his laughter any longer." He paused so he could allow a few desperate sobs to escape from him. "I wish they would all just leave me in peace… just for once." He turned and rested his forehead against the hallway wall. After allowing yet another few sobs become clear, he raised a fist and slammed it against the wall directly beside his head.

Hand and forehead remaining on the surface of the wall, he fell to his knees and lay upright on the floor, head against the wall. He let his hand drop down and land in his lap in correspondence with his left.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, my little Kyuubi." said a smooth, calm and somewhat sorrowful voice coming from the middle of no where. _Sasuke?_ Naruto thought. _No… that can't be him… but it sounds so much like him… maybe a little older…_ Naruto jerked his head up and wiped away his tears forcefully with his arms. Still unsure of who was there he stood up and turned around. Before he was completely around, he found himself, pinned, back against the wall, staring into the most intensive crimson red eyes he had ever seen in his life. He was too stunned to even consider who was there. Those eyes confused him and he felt as though all of his worries and problems had completely disintegrated.

Completely clueless, Naruto finally came to his senses and opened his mouth to speak. "Who-" he began, but was silenced by the enchanting man's finger as it pressed against his lips. The crimson orbs that stared deeper into his blue ones, blinked twice just before he spoke.

"You know exactly who I am…" Naruto listened to the familiar voice and he was finally certain to who exactly was holding him firmly against the wall. He glared, ever so slightly, and hoped the red-eyed man would not notice. It was Itachi, Sasuke's older brother. Itachi's finger still silenced the blonde boy and he slowly and carefully removed his grip from Naruto's shoulders.

"W- why are you here?" Naruto stuttered, hoping Itachi wouldn't try to kill him for asking stupid questions.

Itachi cringed. He was a little tired of people asking him things like "why are you here?" or "what do you want?" or something of the like. He closed his eyes for a moment and then re-opened them. He was surprised to see that Naruto hadn't moved an inch. Normally he would have already either tried to attack him, or have run away. "Why? Well… let's just say that I wanted to check and see how my darling Kyuubi boy was doing." Wait a minute… back up… _darling?_ Naruto felt utterly confused for a moment as he tried to register, in his mind, exactly what Itachi had just said. And yes, his ears were correct. Itachi called him his _darling Kyuubi boy._

"Umm, wh- why would y- you want to kn- know how I wa- was d- do- doing?" he stuttered again. He sniffled, still as payment for the tears he had shed that day.

Itachi lifted his hand, the same one that he used to silence Naruto, and very lightly brushed the back of it across the side of Naruto's soft cheek. "Because… I always need to be sure that my beloved possessions are alright, and I heard you were upset. To have my Naruto walk around, living with a tear-stained face… that I cannot allow. Itachi wiped away a tear from underneath Naruto's eye that accidentally escaped him. "Naruto-kun, do not suffer. Your face looks so much better when it is not scarred with the sting of tears. You must be strong."

Itachi then ran his fingers through Naruto's hair seductively, while Naruto only stood against the wall, feeling completely helpless to anything that was about to happen. He didn't like it, however. In fact, he hated it. For his entire life, Naruto had wanted to feel loved, but for some reason, the very first time that anyone had ever showed any kind of positive feeling toward him, it had to be Itachi… and for another reason, which he had yet to discover, the positive feeling from Itachi, seemed like a lie. It seemed like Itachi's words and actions were all lies, as if to trick him, so sooner or later he could make a move and kill Naruto. This assumption was, even so, a rather large leap, however it was _Itachi _who had Naruto pinned to the wall. Only God knows what he would end up doing to him.

When Itachi removed his hand from Naruto's features, he looked at him even more intensively, and spoke. "One last thing…" he began. Naruto blinked and anticipated Itachi's coming statement. He felt somewhat excited when Itachi used the specific word, _last._ Meaning: he would be leaving soon.

"You must stay away from my brother." Naruto's eyes widened. Why would he tell him such a thing? What was wrong with Sasuke, because he couldn't go near him? Or rather, what was wrong with Itachi, because he told Naruto _not_ to go near Sasuke?

"W- why is that?" he asked Itachi reluctantly.

"Don't question your master unless I authorize you to speak!" Itachi snapped at Naruto, startling him a little. "And to answer your question, no good shall come from being near my foolish brother. I recommend you stay away from him if you can."

Naruto knew this would become a difficult problem, being that he and Sasuke were on the same _team_, for crying out loud. Without another single word, Itachi grabbed Naruto's left hand and dug his fingernails into it. Naruto cringed in pain and he tried to pull back his hand, but when he pulled, he caused Itachi's nails to dig in and the punctured marks bled a little.

"That mark shall prove my promise to you…" Itachi spoke as he suddenly disappeared before Naruto's eyes. His cerulean blue orbs were open wide and he couldn't decipher between whether or not that was a dream. All of a sudden, Naruto's feet gave way and he fell helplessly to the floor, unconscious.

Meanwhile, Itachi sat upon a tree branch behind Naruto's apartment and watched the Kyuubi boy intensively. He smirked and gave a little chuckle when he realized he had accomplished something, and had gained almost one hundred percent power over Naruto. The game… has barely even begun yet…

**Hehe there's chapter five for you. I really hope you liked it. I am not really sure if I left it with a cliffie or not… I think… I think maybe I did because no body knows what is going to happen next, but anyway, that is for me to know and for you all to find out. Also I absolutely LIVE off of reading reviews that I get from readers. I ALWAYS review every time I read a fanfiction, so please return the favor. Please, PLEASE review. It means a lot! ;D luv ya!**


	6. Desperation

**Hewwo people! Thanks for being so patient, I have had so much to do recently so I am glad none of you have given up on me… unless you already have. Well, anyway, here's chapter six for ya!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… never will.**

**Chapter 6: Desperation**

It was the morning of the next day and Sakura stood alone above the bridge waiting patiently for her teammates to arrive. A long, long while went by and suddenly Kakashi showed up and greeted Sakura.

"Good morning, Sakura." He waved. "Where are the others?"

Sakura shrugged slightly. She looked a little irritated as well. "I don't have a clue…" she had a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"That's odd. They haven't shown up yet?" Kakashi asked, somewhat confused. They were always there before he was.

Sakura shrugged and shook her head.

"Well I guess that means that we have to find them now, huh?" Kakashi asked rhetorically.

Sakura sighed. She did not want to have to search around the village for them, but at the same time she felt worried for the two. She nodded and started off into the village.

"I'll find Sasuke. You can go look for Naruto. Got it?" Kakashi cleared with her. "If you find him, just come back to the bridge. I'll meet you here."

She nodded again and took off in the direction of Naruto's apartment. Kakashi went the opposite direction and searched near Sasuke's house.

The silver-haired Jounin quickly searched the streets of Konoha on his way to Sasuke's house. No sign of him was anywhere so he only assumed he was inside. _He must have slept in_, Kakashi thought to himself, only hoping his assumption was correct. Finally he approached the front door of his student's house. He stopped running and walked casually up to the door and knocked.

No answer. He knocked again.

Still there was no answer. Maybe he wasn't home, but Kakashi had an odd feeling he was. He opened the door and took a step inside when he saw Sasuke, laying unconscious on the floor on the other side of the room. He lay, back against the wall, eyes shut, with his head hanging to the side.

Kakashi ran in, wondering what happened. Every step he took he smelled a rather familiar scent and questioned who could have been in the room with Sasuke before then. When he approached his comrade, he knelt down to his level and checked his pulse. It was gone, but he wasn't dead. Kakashi waved a hand in front of Sasuke's face but he didn't wake up.

Suddenly the scent became even more familiar and he instantly knew who had been there. He glared with his one visible eye and picked up his student and held him over his left shoulder. Kakashi sighed and left the room.

_Now what does he want here?_ Kakashi thought. He knew it would only be a matter of time before Sasuke would awake so he carried him back to the bridge.

Meanwhile, Sakura ran through the village in search of the blonde-haired Kyuubi. She was a lot slower than Kakashi, so it took her longer to get to Naruto's apartment, but she eventually made it. She hadn't seen him anywhere on the way to his apartment, and everybody she asked said they hadn't seen him since the previous day.

She slowly walked up to Naruto's door and knocked on it. Just like at Sasuke's house, nobody answered the door. She knocked again and still no answer. She sighed and turned back around, almost about to walk away when she stopped in her tracks and turned back around, facing the door. She paused, unsure of whether or not she should just walk in. She had never seen Naruto's apartment before. She closed her eyes and sighed, opening the door carefully.

Sakura took a step into his apartment and looked around for a moment. To her right was a simple and small kitchen, only enough room for only one person to move around in it. To her left was a living room that had nothing but an old couch facing a broken window with dusty blinds and cheap carpeting. She didn't really expect much of his apartment so none of this was much of a shock to her.

That is, until she saw something scratched into the ceiling. Her curiosity took over her and she walked into the living room. She looked straight up and read the words. _It isn't my fault everyone sees me as something I am not. But why do they all hate me for it? _She squinted for a moment and then frowned. _Does Naruto really think that?_ Sakura sighed. She felt bad for him and wished she could change how he thought. She realized that her entire life she had made it seem as though she hated him. She used to, sure, but after they became teammates she stopped hating him. If she had known before, maybe she could have changed his opinion. She looked at her feet and felt guilt flowing throughout her veins.

Suddenly, she saw a splurge of orange in the corner of her eye and shifted her eyes toward the hallway. Then, remembering why she was there in the first place, she ran over to Naruto and crouched down to his level. He was lying in a heap on the floor next to the wall, unconscious. She grabbed his shoulders and shook him gently.

"Naruto…" she spoke, seeing if she could wake him up. It didn't work, so she tried a little bit louder. "Naruto!" She shook him a couple more times when she finally heard a grunt. She stopped shaking him as he slowly began to open his eyes. Right about the time that they were half open, he came back to consciousness and acted startled as he realized, or, tried to realize what was going on.

"Sakura-chan! What are you doing here?" he asked her.

Sakura faintly smiled and held out a hand to help him up. "Well, you weren't at the bridge when Kakashi-sensei showed up and I," she began. She remembered the words that were inscribed into the ceiling and continued, trying not to pause. "I was worried so I came to look for you."

Naruto stared at her blankly. He then frowned. "Don't you mean Kakashi-sensei _told_ you to find me?"

"No, not at all! I was worried that you might have been hurt or something so I came to find you." She half-lied. Kakashi _did_ tell her to find him, but at the same time, she did care about what might have happened. She smiled at him.

Naruto suddenly remembered what had happened before, with Itachi, but he didn't say anything. He didn't think it would matter either way, but he didn't want the slight chance of worrying anybody. Also, if it hadn't been a dream, then Itachi probably would get angry at him for telling anybody and then probably kill him. He kept his mouth shut.

"Come on, Naruto. Let's go back." Sakura said while Naruto grabbed her hand and stood up. Naruto was sort of confused at why Sakura seemed so nice all of a sudden. He thought, maybe, she might have realized that he was suffering so much and decided to finally give a damn about it. But he realized that the possibilities of that were slim to none and just followed her out his front door.

When Kakashi finally reached the bridge, he set Sasuke down on the ground at the exact moment he started to open his eyes. When Sasuke finally came back to consciousness, he shot his eyes open and stood up as fast as he could. He turned toward Kakashi and asked, "Where is he?" His voice was cold and murderous. He wanted nothing more than to take his only chance to kill Itachi. So many things had happened so quickly and they were all for the better and now Itachi was going to try to take it all away again.

"Sasuke, calm down. I know who went to see you last night, but please, try to calm down." Kakashi urged him. He walked over and put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"How can I calm down? He will take everything away from me again! How can I calm down when he always seems to show up just when everything is going fine!" Sasuke was furious. For so long he had yearned to get revenge on Itachi but whenever the time was just ripe, something had to get in the way so that he couldn't. It was like a never ending cycle that he felt he could never overcome.

Kakashi frowned. "Sasuke I want to talk to you about something."

Sasuke clenched his fists and tried to look up as calmly as he could. Kakashi could see the hate and desperation in his eyes. "What is it?"

Kakashi stepped in front of Sasuke and looked him in the eyes. "You don't need to worry, I already know."

Sasuke was puzzled and annoyed. "What are you talking about?"

"I already know about you and your feelings for Naruto." He replied quietly.

Sasuke's eyes widened for a second and then he closed his eyes and tilted his head down, unclenching his fists. "Naruto…" he spoke to himself quietly. "I… I don't want my brother to take him…"

Kakashi sighed and rested his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"So now you understand why I can't just calm down. He wants to take him away from me, just as things start to get better. He took my family… and now he wants to take him. You cannot expect me to just sit here and watch him steal my life from me…"

Kakashi frowned. "Well I suppose now you realize what it means to fight and to risk your life for someone you love." Kakashi mentioned.

Sasuke was silent. From there on he didn't have a clue as to what to say. Sasuke removed Kakashi's hand from his shoulder and walked away. He sat on the edge of the bridge and stared down at the water below them, looking at his reflection. Whenever he saw himself in a mirror, a photograph, or a reflection such as this, he would always imagine his mother and father standing beside him, smiling. He closed his eyes.

_Damn you, brother. I will not let you take him away from me like you did with everything else._

Sasuke opened his eyes and picked up a rock from beside him, tossing it down into the water. He watched as the ripples slowly erased the image from his mind and then turned his back to the reflection. He leaned over and rested his elbows on top of his knees, clasping his fingers. He stared at the ground and Kakashi took a few steps away staring up at the sky as he waited for the other two genin to arrive at the bridge.

**There's chapter six for you. I hope you liked it! Though it is kind of sad I still hope you did. I decided not to leave a cliffhanger this time but hopefully you will still be into the story and will want to continue reading. Also, PLEASE review. Thank you so much for sticking with me!**


	7. I Promise

**Thanks everyone for "all of the reviews so far" I'm so glad you want to help me to become a more skilled writer with hints and tips. sarcasm sigh well, just so that you all know, this will be the VERY LAST CHAPTER unless I start getting some more reviews… this just… isn't funny anymore. I am at chapter seven and I have only eighteen reviews, half of which don't even help me. It actually kind of hurts when I look at my reviews and how many people have read my story. I have so many hits because my story has been visited so many times, though only thirteen people have decided to review, one of which is a flame. Seven chapters, and I have a flame… :'( cries When you review, tell me what you like and what you dislike so that I can work on it. Because otherwise, I am just going to continue writing as I normally do, and then everybody will end up telling me how horrible I am because I have crappy writing skills. So please, help me out here… To those of you who do review, though, thanks. Also, sorry… really long rant… ANYWAY! Here's the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… never will.**

**Chapter 7: I Promise**

"Kakashi-sensei! I found him!" A young pink-haired girl was heard screaming to her teacher who stood on the bridge, obviously waiting for them. He looked over.

He walked over to Sakura and Naruto, who followed her slowly. "Kakashi-sensei…" she began, whispering slightly. He looked at her, interested as to what she was about to say. Then she quietly continued. "He seems really upset about something and he didn't say a word the whole time since we left his place." Kakashi nodded and approached Naruto whose eyes were fixed on the ground.

Naruto's eyes slowly shifted in the direction of Sasuke, whose eyes were also glued to the cold concrete. Sighing, he looked back at the ground and started to count as many tiny rocks as he could, trying to get his mind off of everything.

Sighing, Kakashi put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto slightly flinched at the touch but calmed down soon afterwards. Naruto took a step backwards to release his shoulder from his teacher's grip, and looked back over at Sasuke. Though, this time, Sasuke was not staring at the ground… he was staring at Naruto. Naruto was suddenly consumed with the overwhelming feeling of sadness and anxiety when Sasuke's eyes told him everything from jealousy to hatred, to sadness, to lust. Everything just spilled out in just a moment's locked gaze between the two, until Sasuke angrily looked back down to the ground. Naruto hung his head. _How awkward… _He thought.

"Well this is somewhat awkward…" Sakura stated after watching the two trade looks. After no body said anything, she sighed and walked up to Kakashi. "Sensei… can I speak to you over here…?" she asked him, guiding him away from the other two, leaving them alone for a while.

Naruto and Sasuke stayed in their original places, and didn't move an inch. They had nothing to say to each other. They both _wanted_ to say something, but they didn't know whether or not the other one knew about the incident. Naruto had had enough, though.

Naruto didn't remove his glued gaze from the ground but he walked over to the side of the bridge where he sat upon the orange rail next to his comrade, Sasuke. He tried to open his mouth to say something, but nothing could come out. After numerous tries, Naruto sighed and hung his head, closing his eyes. _Why didn't I just stay over there? I can't even think of anything to say, so what was the point?_ He thought sadly just before he heard Sasuke mumble something he couldn't understand.

Naruto looked over at Sasuke who was staring at the ground, his eyes filled with sorrow. It almost looked like he wanted to cry, but he was holding it in. "Hmm?" Naruto asked him. "What did you say?"

Sasuke blinked and then sighed. After a long pause, he repeated himself, but it was easier for Naruto to hear this time.

"Why… why did they have to look for you this morning? Where were you?" he asked. If Naruto hadn't second-guessed it, he would say Sasuke sounded concerned.

Naruto turned his head back to where it was and started to count the dots on the ground.

"Well…" Sasuke began again. "Are you gonna answer me?" Sasuke was determined. He had to know.

Naruto sighed. "I…" he started. "I don't… know why…" he paused for a few seconds. His voice was scratchy and it seemed like he didn't know what he was trying to say. But then he continued. "I couldn't stand up. I was… frozen. I couldn't move." Sasuke blinked and continued to listen. "I was at my house. I guess. I don't really know why I couldn't get up." Naruto then caught himself. He couldn't say anymore. He refused.

Sasuke closed his eyes.

"What is going on?" Sakura asked Kakashi, completely confused about the entire situation.

"I don't know if I should tell you." _Then again… she is pretty persistent…_ he thought. Sakura looked confused, so he continued. "It's sort of personal to them, so all I can say is that something very strange has happened recently and they're trying to get used to it.

"And… I'm assuming that that something is… something I can't know about just yet…?"

Kakashi nodded in reply. Sakura sighed and turned around to look at her comrades. Naruto was now sitting next to Sasuke on the red railing and they were both staring at the ground.

"It's just that…" she started. "They look so depressed. I have never seen either of them act that way."

"I know, Sakura. It will get better though, I promise." Kakashi's visible eye curved and Sakura felt assured. Well, only partly assured. She felt comfortable that it would all get better soon enough, but she was still upset about whatever was happening _then._ "I'm sorry I can't tell you about this."

Sakura closed her eyes and nodded. They both turned to look at the two boys sitting on the bridge. They watched as they attempted to make conversation.

"Sasuke…?" Naruto asked, hesitantly. Sasuke looked up and over at Naruto, questioningly. "Why…" he began. He almost didn't want to resume, but Sasuke's intense gaze persuaded him to go on. "Why did you…" he paused. "Why were you at my house yesterday?" he asked, his voice sounded even quieter, as if he didn't really want Sasuke to hear his question.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked away. "Your… house? I…" Naruto looked at him and waited anxiously for him to reply. "I… don't remember why…" he finished, even though he knew completely why he did, he couldn't tell him.

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "I don't believe you." When Sasuke didn't answer him, Naruto turned his head forward and then spoke quietly again. "I've… never had… so many people…" Sasuke blinked, curious as to what the blonde boy was trying to say. "I've never had so many people… in my house… all in one day."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the statement. His face jerked toward Naruto who looked like he wanted to burst out into a frenzy of tears and sobs. He looked like he wanted to scream out and run away from everything, just so he wouldn't be so frightened. All Sasuke wanted to do was hold Naruto down and apologize to him for everything that had happened. He wanted to be able to tell him he was okay and that he wouldn't let anybody hurt him, especially his brother, but what would he say if he told him?

"Naruto… I…" he started, though he wasn't sure how he would continue. He didn't think about what he was going to say, and just hoped he wouldn't accidentally say the wrong thing. He let himself talk and didn't think of the outcome. "I'm sorry."

Naruto didn't know what to do afterwards. He was so lost and confused, that all he could think to do was cry. He shut his eyes as tightly as he could. He didn't want to see Sasuke… or Sakura… or anybody else. He just wanted to go somewhere he could be safe from all fear or harm. He allowed the tears to flow rapidly out from underneath his eyelids, not thinking about what Sasuke would be thinking. As far as Naruto was concerned, Sasuke didn't care. But… he was wrong. He was more than wrong. Naruto hugged his knees and sobbed into his own shirt.

Sasuke watched Naruto helplessly cry next to him. He felt so bad about everything that was going on. He lifted a hand and set it gently on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto jumped slightly and looked up. He couldn't believe what was happening. He allowed a few more tears to fall down his whiskered face as he stared up at Sasuke whose hand remained on his shoulder. Sasuke wore a comforting smile and Naruto assumed he was dreaming. He knew deep down that he wasn't but for some reason, he hoped he was. For Sasuke to act so caring was almost frightening and Naruto didn't know how he was supposed to react. He only stared at Sasuke in amazement and tears still fell from his face.

"I'm sorry I let this happen." Sasuke's warm smile was gone. Naruto almost wished it hadn't left, but he listened to what Sasuke was saying. He leaned forward and rested his chin in between his knees. "I won't let it happen again, though." Naruto curled himself in closer to his body and shivered. It was too unreal, but not knowing how to react, he just let it happen.

"I promise…" Sasuke whispered. Naruto stopped shivering and looked back over at Sasuke. His warm smile had returned.

**There's chapter seven for ya! I really hope you liked it. I promise that the next chapter will start to get more exciting. I just had to start off some of the character relationships first and then the story line will jump in. Also, in the words of Pocky Whore, "****If you like it, please, TELL ME!" There are already lots of people who have alerted my story, but all I know about them is that they like it. I don't know why they like it, or what they don't like about it, so please, TELL ME!**

**Also, I wrote a message to you, Pocky Whore, in my profile, just like you:P.**


	8. Chosen

**Hey everyone! Thank you SOOO much for reviewing like you all did. Well, not all of you, but those of you who did. I'm terribly sorry if in the last chapter I seemed a little bit mean and somewhat threatening about the review thing… I didn't mean to at all. Anyway, enjoy and keep reviewing:D**

**Disclaimer: By now I think we have already established that I do not own Naruto… though, if I did, I think I would be worshiping myself for creating such an amazing plotline and characters and everything else there is to say about it. But since I'm not… I will just stick with worshiping Masashi Kishimoto for the said things. Wow… long disclaimer. I think I'll give you the chapter now…**

**Chapter 8: Chosen**

As yet another tear streamed down the blonde's cheek, he couldn't help the tiny hint of a smile when he heard Sasuke's words. Sasuke slowly removed his hand from the boy's shoulder and stood up watching Kakashi and Sakura walk back over to the two.

Kakashi held up three envelopes and handed them to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. The envelopes each had a stamped mark that read "enclosed" with big, red letters. Sakura looked up. "What's this?" she asked him, curiously as she cautiously opened the envelope.

"These are your new assignments." Kakashi replied watching them interestedly open the envelopes. All three unfolded the pieces of paper that were inside and read them carefully. None of them were ordinary missions. In fact, they were not really missions at all. Each piece of paper ordered the three teammates to report directly to the Hokage. Looking up, the three Genin blinked questioningly at their teacher.

"It says to report to the Hokage." Sasuke stated, looking back down at his paper. He folded it back up and put it back into the envelope while Kakashi nodded.

"Indeed. That is what it says." He stated bluntly.

"What for?" Sakura asked him.

"That, I cannot tell you. But it also says to go immediately so I recommend you do so." Naruto and Sakura both folded theirs as well and put them into their envelopes. All three Genin nodded and were about to take off when they noticed Kakashi hadn't taken a single step.

"Aren't you coming?" Naruto asked him.

"I have been given orders to stay and guard this area. I know you know the way. You'll be fine without me." Kakashi acknowledged them.

Naruto turned back around and the three started off for the Hokage's office.

oO.Later.Oo

The entire time, none of them had said a word to each other. Sakura had wanted to say something about what was wrong between the other two all of a sudden but she had kept her mouth shut for fear she would become an annoyance to them.

As they approached the door to the Fifth's office, they paused for a moment. They looked at one another, hoping that something urgent had not happened and that their worst nightmare would be on the other side of that door. Sasuke gulped and put his hand on the doorknob.

When he opened the door, the three were welcomed by someone who spoke, "Good, now everybody is here." They looked up and saw that the room was packed with all of the Genin (except for Shikamaru who by then was already a Chunin) of Konoha. All of their academy friends and foes were standing in that room awaiting the arrival of team seven. As they looked around, none of the Jounin teachers were in the room. The only other people that were in the room were Tsunade, the Fifth, and her companion, Shizune.

Tsunade leaned on her desk with her fingers clasped and held up to her face. She glanced around the room at everybody and sighed. "Alright, everyone. Step up and listen closely. I'm only going to say this once." She stated and removed her hands from in front of her mouth. She paused and stared out at the Genin that surrounded her desk. "Good. Now that I have your attention I'm going to give you the basics of your new assignment." Everybody stared anxiously at her. "Each team in this room will be assigned a room to occupy. These rooms are all well hidden underneath Konoha where no body from another village could find you. You will stay there until our current problem is fixed." She paused again, earning a confused glare from more than half of the people in the room.

"I know what you're all thinking. 'We're ninja, so why can't we help?' right?" half of the glares returned to anxious stares as they waited for her to continue. "Well, if I tell you of the problem that has recently occurred, I am sure all of you will recognize some part of it. The problem is there are ninja from who-knows-where who have come to Konoha and have been invisibly attacking the ninja of our village. No body can see them. Well, no body except for one person. That person, I will have a talk with after I assign you all to your rooms." Everybody except for Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto looked curiously around the room, wondering who it was that could see the mysterious ninja. Naruto clenched one of his fists and patiently waited for her to go on.

"Please do not leave until I authorize you to." She began again. "First team! Aburame Shino. Izunuka Kiba. Hyuuga Hinata. You three will be assigned to room number 201." The three nodded their heads. "Second team. Yamanaka Ino. Nara Shikamaru. Akimichi Chouji. You three will be assigned to room number 202, directly across from room 201." Those three nodded as well. "Third team. Haruno Sakura. Uzumaki Naruto. Uchiha Sasuke. You three will be assigned to room number 203, directly next to room 201." Sasuke and Sakura nodded while Naruto stood there and listened. Hinata secretly blushed slightly when she heard that Naruto's room would be the one next to hers.

Then Tsunade spoke again. "Fourth team. Tenten. Rock Lee. Hyuuga Neji. You three will be assigned to room number 204, directly next to room 202." Those three nodded in reply and everybody was finally covered.

"My right hand, Shizune, will guide you down into your rooms. Please try your best to stay hidden. You may leave now." Shizune moved away from Tsunade's side and walked to the door. She opened it and allowed them all to walk out before her. She and Tsunade traded eye contact and Shizune nodded. Naruto was the last to walk out the door. Just as he passed Shizune, she lay a hand on his shoulder and he stopped walking. He only stared into space.

"Tsunade-sama would like to speak with you." She whispered into his ear. He shivered as the sound trailed down his back.

"Tch," he shorted, turning around to head back into her office. Shizune closed the door behind him and walked to the front of the students.

"We cannot leave until he comes back out. Please try to stay patient while we wait." She announced to the crowd of people waiting.

"Uzumaki Naruto. Please, come closer." Tsunade said to Naruto, gesturing for him to stand closer to her desk. Naruto stepped closer and stopped just as he approached the desk.

"I'm sorry we have to do this to you, Naruto-kun. You most likely already know what I am going to say next, though, don't you?" Naruto looked down at her desk, eyes completely unreadable. "Once again, I apologize. I hate to have to do this to somebody who didn't do anything wrong, but we have to. Otherwise, everyone in Konoha will be destroyed. You are our only hope of saving the village."

"It's because of Kyuubi isn't it?" he asked her.

Tsunade sighed. "Yes. If you didn't have the Kyuubi, you would be like everybody else. You wouldn't be able to see them, but you can… can't you?" she asked rhetorically. "That's why we need you to help us."

"Of course I'm going to help. This is my home." Naruto looked up, grinning. "Everybody I care for lives in this village and I have to protect them even if it kills me." Tsunade grinned.

"That's a good thing to hear. I will have to discuss some things with you about it later. But for now, you should go with your teammates to your room and get some rest." Naruto's grin faded and he nodded. He turned to walk to the door, and exited the room.

Just as he left the room, his faded grin turned into a solemn expression. Everybody in the hallway outside Tsunade's office turned to face Naruto when they heard the door close. They all expected him to say something but when he only stared at the wall in front of him, they turned back around and Shizune lead them out of the building to the rooms.

After what seemed like half an hour of walking, Shizune's pace slowed down and suddenly stopped in the middle of an open desert area. Looking up, the Genin saw that they were directly underneath the Hokage monument. Shizune knelt down and waved her hand toward the ground. Suddenly a small door appeared and she opened it. Some of the people who watched her were amazed, however being that it wasn't so surprising to have something like that happen, the rest never-minded it and followed her silently through the open door.

Naruto was the last person through the door and just as he got his whole body in, the door slammed shut with a loud, echoing bang. He looked up at the door and dust filled each and every crack between the wooden edges. He quickly looked back down and blinked rapidly to get the dust out of his eyes. He hopped off the ladder and landed roughly on the ground. Looking out, he saw everybody in front of him, watching him. It almost looked as if they were waiting for him to do something amazing or anticipating hearing him say something. But when he kept his mouth shut and walked past them all, they turned back around and followed. Naruto walked up to Shizune. He didn't say anything but she knew that they were all there and ready to get to their rooms.

They finally began walking down a long corridor with dark green walls and a few lights trailing down the ceiling. The walls that surrounded them were filled with doors that each had a number carved above them. The first door had the number 190 carved above it. The walls, doors, and the poor quality of the lights down the corridor made the environment seem old and mysterious. Not to mention the fact that no body had said a word while they walked through the hall. Naruto's eyes, along with everybody else's, wandered to the tops of each door, marking where they were and how long it would be until they reached the first room. _197… 198… 199… 200…_ and then they stopped in front of room #201.

"You all remember which room is yours?" Shizune asked the group. When everybody nodded a "yes" in reply, she stepped aside and let them into their rooms. Naruto walked to his team's room and opened the door. There was a light switch to the side of the door and flipping it towards the ceiling, a rather dim light flickered on. It was too unfortunate that there were no windows, but then again, why would somebody need a window if they were underground? On the other hand, there were three uncomfortable-looking cots in the room and the walls looked old, cracked and dirty. Just by the appearance of the so-called room Naruto knew he was not looking forward to however long he would have to stay there. He walked inside and lay on the cot that was practically stuffed in the far corner of the room.

Sakura and Sasuke caught up with him and walked in the room. They paused and glanced at each other when they noticed that Naruto was curled up in a tiny ball on the cot, facing the wall. Sakura and Sasuke slowly made their ways to their own cots. Sasuke got the one that lay sideways against the middle of the back wall. Sakura got the one symmetrical to Naruto's. Sasuke noticed that his pillow was only feet away from Naruto's. He sighed and wanted more than anything to be able to make Naruto feel better. But he thought about it and realized that any kindness he would try to show Naruto would turn out to be frightening to him because it was unusual. Sasuke didn't want that anymore though. He didn't know why he was always so cold to the adorable bastard. He sighed, laid his head against the cold pillow, and closed his eyes.

**There's chapter eight for ya! I hope you enjoyed it! Don't forget to review!**


	9. Obsession

**Hey Everyone! Kidlet350 here! Thanks for some of the reviews I got on that last chapter. I am positive of the plot line from here on out, so make sure you DON'T quit on me now! I am so thankful for all of you that have so far committed to my story so please, don't bail. I'll miss you all a lot if you quit now so keep reading! I'll try to make the chappies a little bit longer as well, so look forward to that too! Thanks!**

**Disclaimer: Meh… another disclaimer. Well, I guess this time I'll just stick with the usual "I do not own Naruto… Never will." Thing. Yeah. Thanks.**

**Chapter 9: Obsession**

Sakura sat on her cot and looked over at the two boys who lay separately on their own cots. It had only been a few minutes and it appeared that both of them were already sleeping. Were they really that tired? Sakura wondered what it was that they did that could've caused them to tire so easily.

Oddly, she herself felt overwhelmingly tired all of a sudden so she lay down on her cot and rested her head against her pillow. Slowly, she dozed off into a dark, consuming sleep.

Naruto was sitting in a position so that his back was facing Sasuke. Sasuke ran up to him and put his hand gently on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto turned around, startled, and stared up at the boy who refused to remove his hand from his shoulder.

"Sasuke…" Naruto spoke quietly. "What do you want…?" he sounded sad… which was not a new thing for him recently. It broke Sasuke's heart to hear his tone though.

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something. To tell him he was sorry for always treating him so badly. He wanted to tell him that from then on out he would try to protect him and make sure nothing bad would ever happen to him. He wanted to express how horrible he felt for being so cold to the poor boy in front of him- but all he could manage to say was, "…" he couldn't even use real words. He choked on himself every time he tried to speak and he felt totally overwhelmed with emotions. He became nervous eventually and panicked that Naruto might turn back around and just walk away from him. Again.

But Sasuke was completely confused and tossed back and fourth when Naruto did something he never would have expected. Not even in a million years.

"I know what you're trying to say, Sasuke." He paused and closed his eyes, slowly moving in closer to his teammate. "Don't worry. I forgive you." He whispered. Immediately his lips lightly brushed against Sasuke's. Just when Naruto pulled away, Sasuke gasped. He was so nervous and confused, he felt like crawling into a tiny ball and rolling into the corner of the room. Naruto gently wrapped his arms around Sasuke for a few moments and whispered again, "I understand how you feel." Naruto peeled himself off of Sasuke and turned to walk away. Sasuke blinked a few times and then…

He woke up.

Sasuke cursed. He knew having feelings for somebody would cloud his mind. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes for a moment and then sat up. He glanced around the room trying to regain the memory of how he got in there. When he remembered, he glanced around again and saw Naruto, now facing Sasuke, eyes shut, sleeping soundly. He looked to the other side and saw Sakura also sleeping quietly. He shifted his whole body around and sat cross-legged on his bed facing Naruto. He rested his elbows on his knees clasping his fingers together to hold them up to his face.

He blinked again, gazing at the blonde's calm face. The one time he had ever seen Naruto so emotionless- when he was asleep. Naruto's eyelids were just barely shut. His mouth was shaped into neither a smile nor a frown. His whiskers twitched sometimes, but barely noticeable. Only somebody like Sasuke would notice the tiny movements Naruto's body made while he slept.

Sasuke thought about what he would say to Naruto and when. Naruto seemed so sad about something recently. Ever since the day Sasuke decided to walk Naruto home from the ramen shop, Naruto had acted as if every inch of happiness had been sucked out of him. His eyes were always glued to the ground and he never smiled once. Not even once.

Sasuke then remembered what Naruto had said to him on the bridge: "I've never had so many people… in my house… all in one day." Then he remembered the tears that flowed endlessly from Naruto's beautiful blue eyes. Maybe he shouldn't have gone to Naruto's house in the first place. Sasuke wondered why Itachi had gone as well. Itachi told him to stay away from Naruto. But what did he want with him? Sasuke cursed at himself in his head. He looked at the angelic blonde that lay peacefully on his cot. Sasuke rolled his eyes and looked away, a tiny smirk appearing upon his lips.

_Damn that bastard-Naruto. Damn him for being so god damned adorable…_ Sasuke bit his lip and stood up. He walked over to the door and set his hand on the door knob. Just before he opened it, he glanced over his shoulder at Sakura who was still soundly asleep. He smirked at the sight of her squirming in her sleep. Then he turned his head to glance over at Naruto. Sasuke froze suddenly when he saw Naruto's eyes were open, and he was staring right at him. Sasuke removed his hand from the door knob and turned around. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked down smirking.

"You're awake already, I see." He said to Naruto who blinked a few times. Naruto didn't reply for a while. Then he looked down at the ground, still lying on his cot. Sasuke almost gave up hope and turned around to head out. He put his hand back on the door knob and was about to open it when Naruto finally said something for the first time since they were at the bridge.

"I have been. Since we got here." He answered. Sasuke froze and left his hand on the door knob. Once again he was surprised when Naruto spoke again. "Um… Sasuke?" he asked quietly and hesitantly.

Sasuke released his hand from the door knob but he didn't turn around. He closed his eyes and hung his head. "Yes, Naruto?" he replied, trying his hardest not to sound sarcastic or annoyed.

Naruto paused and closed his eyes. A few cold tears escaped from his eyelids before he continued. Sasuke could tell he was crying by the tone in his voice. "Why…" he began.

"Why… do you hate me?"

Sasuke gasped and his eyes shot open as wide as they would go. Slowly, he turned around and faced Naruto. He felt tears wash over his eyes as he gazed sadly at his beloved teammate sob quietly. He looked so sad and helpless, lying there, alone, cold, and miserable.

"Naruto…" he began. "I…" he tried as hard as he could to let the right words come out. A tear rolled down his cheek. Just one. One lone tear that would not be followed by another. "I could never hate you." He choked out.

Naruto paused, trying his best to believe the words that was just given to him. "Then… how come you make it seem like you do? Always glaring at me when you have the chance… always calling me names when I didn't do anything wrong."

"I-" he stuttered, which was a rare thing for Uchiha Sasuke to do. "I'm sorry." That too, was an unusual thing for him to do.

"And then you come to my house like I invited you, and then sneak away acting like you never came? Why didn't you say something?" he asked.

"I didn't know how you would react if I did." He blurted out. He almost smacked himself in the head for saying it. There was an extremely long pause. Naruto breathed to himself slowly. He opened his eyes and stared down at the floor.

"Why _did_ you come, anyway?" he asked him. His voice was quiet and Sasuke had to listen carefully to hear what he was saying.

"I…" he stuttered again. This was an on-going thing that had been happening to him and he knew it would have to stop eventually. Or at least, he hoped. "I don't remember." He lied. He couldn't tell him the truth right there.

"I see." From then on, Naruto kept his mouth shut. If Sasuke actually didn't hate him, he didn't want to make him hate him for always arguing with him. He stared at the floor, eyes totally lost in confusion. That is, until Sasuke walked over and sat next to the blonde, on his cot.

"Say, Naruto…?" he began to ask.

Naruto looked up questioningly, eyes the same as before, quiet, alone, sad. Sasuke continued.

"Who…_ else_ went to your house yesterday?" he asked. Naruto flinched and Sasuke knew it couldn't be good. He already sort of knew it was Itachi, but he just wanted to know for sure.

"It… it was no body." He lied. Sasuke knew it was a lie too. He stared into his eyes with a gaze that bribed Naruto to tell the truth. It was sort of sad yet hungry expression that consumed Naruto's emotions.

"Please tell me… I won't share it with anybody else. It'll be our little secret." He bribed.

Naruto shook his head and closed his eyes tightly. "No. I can't tell you." He told him, eyes still shut.

"Can't… tell me?" Sasuke was puzzled. He sat up straight. He still knew exactly who it was who visited Naruto, but why he couldn't tell him was beyond his knowledge.

"I can't tell you. He'll hurt me…" Naruto's words shocked Sasuke to no end and he stood up from Naruto's cot. He walked over to the door for the final time and opened it.

"It's alright. I understand." He told Naruto as he walked out the door. Naruto curled himself up into a tiny ball on his cot and closed his eyes, trying as hard as he could to get himself to fall asleep. Though, many images of Sasuke's older brother flashed into his mind and he could not concentrate on getting to sleep. All he could think about was when the next time the cold man would pay him a visit again. He hoped that the answer was never, but deep down he felt as though he was watching him right then and there. Watching his every move.

A thing like that could drive somebody crazy…

Sasuke closed the door behind himself and walked further down the hall, away from every body else. Just a few minutes later he stopped walking when he noticed that there were no more doors on either side of him nor were there any more lights. He could still see, but he knew he wouldn't be able to for very long. Thus, he turned around and started to walk back. The corridor smelled dusty and Sasuke practically sneezed after every sigh or deep breath he took.

He started to walk a little bit slower and fixed his eyes on the cold green floor of the corridor. _He… still thinks I hate him…_ he thought for at least the hundredth time since he left the room. _I thought I… What did I do wrong…?_ Sasuke thought about everything he had done to Naruto in the past. Then he remembered all of the name-calling and teasing he did to him and took back his own thoughts. He thought that maybe he should consider being nicer to Naruto. Then maybe Naruto would not be so sad all the time and Sasuke could possibly see Naruto's true smile -the smile that actually emitted happiness. If Sasuke could be the one to coax Naruto's honest smile for the first time, then maybe Sasuke could make his relationship with him stronger.

Sasuke sighed and peeled his eyes off of the floor. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked above one of the doors to see where he was. _337, _he thought. _Wow…_ he had gone a lot farther than he thought he had gone. Sasuke shrugged and continued down the corridor.

Another minute went by and soon enough he found his way back to his team's room. He put his hand on the door knob but just before he opened it, he was startled by the obnoxious sound of someone screaming his name.

"AAAAHH! SASUKE-KUUUUUUN!" he heard the repulsive squealing in his ears. He cringed at the thought of what he would see if he turned around, so he just stood there and allowed the annoying girl pounce all of her weight onto his back. He winced just as he felt her weight.

A girl the same age as Sasuke with long, light blonde hair and blue-ish-green eyes jumped practically on top of the annoyed Sasuke. He grunted loudly and she pouted.

"Aww, Sasuke-kun. Not happy to see me?" Ino waited for the reply she wouldn't get. "Oh. Fine." She said with a pout. "Well, maybe you will be next time… that is… your room is right across from mine…"

"Don't even think about it." He snapped. Ino's expression changed and she hopped down onto the floor.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun. You know you want t-" she was cut off.

"I said no."

Ino pouted again. "But… Sasuke-kun! I can't sleep at night if I don't have something… or _someone_ to hold onto!" she whined.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. _Oh how I wish Naruto was here to save me from this horrifying situation right about now… _he thought in anguish. "Don't you have teammates of your own to 'hold onto'?" he suggested.

"There is no way I'm snuggling up to one of _them_!" she snarled quietly, hoping they wouldn't magically appear behind her. Sasuke turned the door knob to his own room and opened it. Just as he closed it, he heard Ino say behind him, "Oh well. I guess I'll just try tomorrow night…"

The door was finally closed and he sighed of relief. Finally free from danger! He walked over to his cot and pulled out a notebook and pencil he accidentally left in his back pocket.

oO. In Room 201 .Oo

Shino lay on his cot and looked up at the ceiling, thinking. It was unclear exactly what he was thinking about because he never showed any emotion. His jacket always covered the lower half of his face and he never took off those sunglasses… not even at night.

Hinata sat on her cot with her back leaning against the wall, hugging her knees. She was most likely thinking about Naruto.

Kiba on the other hand was pacing around the room, scratching his head. He sighed and sounded irritated. "This sucks…"

Hinata looked up. Kiba looked at Hinata when he saw her move in the corner of his eye. He smirked. "Being stuck down here, I mean." He looked away and started pacing again. "I'm really not looking forward to staying down here… we don't even know how long we'll be stuck down here either!"

"Kiba-kun, please calm down. We'll be fine." Hinata spoke quietly, as usual, and her face slightly turned a bit red. Kiba sighed.

He walked over to his cot and sat on the edge of it. He looked over at Shino who hadn't said anything for a while. "Hey Shino…?" he asked.

"What is it?" Shino replied, sitting up. He adjusted the position of his sunglasses and looked over at his teammate.

"Oh… Well it isn't really important but I have kind of a personal-ish question." Kiba stated oddly.

Shino raised his eyebrows but Kiba could barely notice because the sunglasses were in the way.

"Well, uh… Why don't you ever take those sunglasses off?" He asked. Shino didn't reply. He stared at him (or at least as far as Kiba was concerned). Kiba continued on trying not to make himself sound dumb. "Well… you don't take them off when it's already dark at night and then you wear them while you sleep… he was about to continue when he trailed off."

Shino stared in his general direction and didn't reply with even a grunt. Kiba noticed this and immediately stopped talking for fear he might have insulted his teammate.

"Sorry… I guess I'll just uh… go… out… here…?" he said while walking to the door. Shino's head followed Kiba around the room. When Kiba put his hand on the doorknob, Shino rolled over and lay on his cot. Kiba removed his hand from the doorknob and walked back over to his cot. He lay down so that his back faced Shino and Hinata, who separated the two.

"Forget I asked." He said.

Hinata looked back and forth at her two teammates who both faced away from her. Not knowing what else to do, she turned over onto her side and slowly dozed off.

oO. In Room 202 .Oo

"How'd it go, Ino?" Shikamaru asked the blonde girl as she walked back into the room.

"A-he-he! I think I might have a chance with him now! He's acting like he is only trying to hide his affection!" she giggled and scratched the back of her head nervously.

Shikamaru smirked and replied, "That's great, Ino." He said half-sarcastically. Every time Ino said something about her finally being accepted into Sasuke's life, that actually meant that Sasuke had found yet another thing about her to be annoying.

Ino walked over to her cot and sat down. She glanced over at Shikamaru who sat on his own cot resting his elbows on his knees. He looked like he was deep in thought about something. But then again, when did he not? She then glanced over at Chouji, her other teammate and laughed inwardly when she saw him start to panic about just finishing the last bag of potato chips.

"You could always leave and get some more…" Ino teased.

"I want to but… Shizune-san told us we shouldn't leeeave!" Chouji whined.

"Hmm. That just occurred to me… I wonder if and when they are going to bring us any food. But if we can't leave then they can't come, right? Wait no, because they have to come to get Naruto when the time comes. But isn't that dangerous? Oh no! We're going to be stuck down here forever!" Ino screamed.

"Ino calm down. They aren't going to starve us." Shikamaru stated out of irritation from Ino's loud obnoxious voice.

"But-but…" Ino complained.

"It's called common sense. If they were going to starve us, then that would mean we would all die, right?" he asked.

"Um… right…?" she replied, unsure of where he was going with that.

"So… if they wanted us to die, then they wouldn't have sent us here in the first place." He finished.

"Oh… that makes sense." She replied.

Chouji interrupted the conversation. "Of course it makes sense." When the other two turned to look at him oddly, he changed the subject. "I'm hungry."

Ino slapped the palm of her hand against her forehead and sighed. Shikamaru chuckled and Chouji searched frantically to find something to eat.

oO. In Room 204 .Oo

"486… 487… 488… 489…" Lee counted aloud as he continuously trained his body through multiple push-ups, and practicing his kicks and punches. Tenten, one of his teammates watched him and chuckled at the sight of his enthusiasm. "493… 494… 495… 496…" he continued on.

Neji lay on his cot and looked up at the ceiling with his blindingly white eyes. (Get it… _blind_ingly white _eyes_…? Okay sorry. Back to the story). He folded his arms and sighed, wondering just how long he was going to have to stay in that room. This was truly the most unexciting and boring mission he and anyone else had ever had to complete. While he sat there thinking, he heard in the background, "498… 49-9… 500! (pause for a quick breath) Okay! Running in place for four hours, non-stop!"

Tenten chuckled slightly. His hard work was so overwhelming; it was amazing he was still alive!

oO. Later .Oo

Sasuke read over what he had written. Originally he had no idea what he was intending to write about but he finally realized it when he read over it:

_Random thoughts: I feel really bad that Naruto thinks I hate him still. I'm trying not to make it look like I do but I guess it just has to do with the way I look at him… I don't know. I'm probably over-thinking this. I should go out for a walk or something later when it starts to get dark. Then I might be able to think about it when he's not around so I don't get distracted. Hmm, I wonder if he noticed me watching him earlier when I woke up from that dream I had… he said he was awake but he looked so innocent and asleep. He **must've**__fallen asleep at **some**__point. Why else would he lay there looking so adorable and innocent? Aah! What if he finds this and reads it! I should probably burn it or tear it up or something. Oh no! What if one day he finally decides that he loves me in return! That could be completely taken away if he found this and thought I was some kind of sick and twisted gay pervert… I'm not… I just can't resist him. It's like a drug. I don't understand how I can get so distracted by someone like him. He's just Naruto… but then again there are so many things about him that are just so… how should I put it? Amazing? No… Intoxicating? No… definitely not. More like… overwhelming. I don't know. I've just completely fallen into some sort of trap or illusion he's set and maybe one day I'll wake up and realize that I was just going through some odd phase. But… oh hell. I keep going into and out of denial. I know the truth though. I'd die for him. Hell, I **did** die for him once. Heh, I remember that. Well, I think I might hear someone outside. It's probably Shizune-san or someone like that bringing food. I don't know. I guess I'll just find out. Wow… how long have I been writing? This is starting to get long. It's funny too. I think I am over-thinking Naruto. This entire rant has been about him. Well, I guess it's worth it. Oh well. I should go see who's outside. Sasuke_

**Hehe there's chapter nine for ya:D Wow. Did you notice my amazing updating speed of doom? Lol sorry I'm being retarded again. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it so far. Don't forget to review too! winks at everyone Thanks!**


	10. Genjutsu

**Hey everyone! I'm so sorry for the late update! I had a HUGE speech that was due last Monday so I had to get that done. But now I'm back in business! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: If you have read up to this point, you should know that I do _not_ own Naruto. Woo. Nuff said.**

**Chapter Ten: Genjutsu**

The rest of the day seemed unnaturally long. For some odd reason, Sakura still hadn't woken up the entire time, while Naruto probably fell asleep somewhere along the way. Well, that's what Sasuke thought, anyway.

Many hours had passed and Sasuke could not, no matter how hard he tried, get to sleep. He tossed and turned countless times in order to find a more comfortable position on his cot. Then again, how comfortable could one really _get_ on one of those things? The width of each mattress was about three inches, and they were always cold, even after one had been laying on it for a while. The surface each cot lay on was that of many rusty, easily-breakable-looking springs with rusty aluminum legs on either end.

Sasuke lie on top of his cot for a few more minutes, staring up at the pitched-black roof. It was especially dark, save the small crack of light underneath the door, because the light was off, and frankly, being underground, there were no windows. Sooner or later, Sasuke became overwhelmingly bored with tossing and turning. He rolled his body over to the side of the bed and stood up.

With the unclear idea of exactly where he was planning to go, he stumbled to the door and opened it, ignoring the loud squeak the hinges emitted, and walked into the corridor. He subconsciously licked his dry lips and started down the corridor toward the door they all entered through.

Naruto, who had not actually fallen asleep, stood up and walked over to the door Sasuke had opened. He poked his head out and watched the older boy step up the ladder and open the door to leave. When Naruto could no longer see him, he stepped out of the room and closed the door. He followed Sasuke's tracks to the door, knowing it would be unsafe if Sasuke was to leave. He stepped up the ladder and opened the door.

Meanwhile, Sakura was lying in her bed, awake. She heard Sasuke get up and leave, and just soon after, Naruto followed him. Where were they going? Sakura stood up and cautiously ran through the dark room to the door. She opened it and looked left- no one. She looked right- still no one was there. She stepped out and decided her best guess was the door. She was still tired, so her footsteps were sluggish. She wasn't worried that her teammates would get into trouble, so she walked slowly through the corridor.

Sasuke walked through the desert area of Konoha, looking up at the clear night sky. He never told anybody, but stars were the one thing he could look at and completely forget about everything for just that one moment. He walked slowly through the dark, his hands stuffed in his pockets.

Suddenly, he felt something or someone hit him straight in the center of his back. He coughed and turned around to see what are who it was. When he didn't see anybody, he turned back around and immediately felt something slam him hard in the stomach. He doubled over and coughed up a few drops of blood, falling to the ground. _Is this_ _Genjutsu? _He wondered as he held his stomach in pain. _No… this is something else._

Just then he remembered the invisible enemies on the bridge the other day. His eyes widened and he knew he was probably done for. There was absolutely no way he could defeat them if he couldn't see them. He allowed his eyes to bleed from his original ebony black into the recognizable Sharingan red with three commas. Still he could not see anything. Suddenly he felt multiple kunai stab him in the back. He winced and rolled onto his stomach, breathing heavily. Another blow to the body and he would probably die.

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the _exact _same recognizable people from the bridge crowding around Sasuke who was lying on the ground. He sprinted over as fast as he could. When he was about five feet away from the closest one, he shouted to get their attention, "Hey you! Your opponent is _me!_"

They all turned around to see the same boy who… _killed_ them before. Only this time, he looked even angrier than before. His eyes were red with two elongated black slits in the center. His whiskers deepened and his hair looked a bit more ruffled. When he clenched his teeth, they could see that his canines were longer and sharper as well as his nails, or, claws. Surrounding himself with a different, and more frightening red chakra, he growled.

"Don't you… lay a _finger _on him!" he shouted angrily at the six people who now looked a little bit more frightened.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled. Suddenly, thousands of Narutos appeared. "What? Are you scared?" he asked them.

"Tch…" one of them snorted.

"This is taking too long." Naruto and all of his fellow Narutos ran at the six people whose stances immediately changed. They each took out a kunai of their own and sliced through as many of them as they could.

"We already know that all we have to do is kill the real one…" another one shouted. Each of them had killed at least a hundred of them and now there were only two left. "Hn. It's a fifty-fifty chance. You're out of luck." Two of the invisible (but not so invisible to Naruto) people chose a Naruto to stand in front of. Neither of the Kyuubi Narutos budged as the enemies took out another kunai, holding it up to their necks. The two whose lives were being threatened, smirked.

"I'll take that filthy smirk right off your face, baka!" they shouted, stabbing the kunai straight into the Narutos' necks. Both of them disappeared in a poof of white smoke, leaving the six enemies confused.

"Up here!" the _real_ Naruto shouted as he jumped down from the top of a deserted building. He held three kunai in one hand and three in the other, throwing one each at the enemies. Each of them successfully stabbed an enemy through the heart, causing them to fall dead, and visible, to the ground. Naruto successfully avoided Sasuke's body when he tossed the kunai. He landed just next to Sasuke's head and checked his pulse. Thankfully, it was still there, but slow.

"Sasuke… are you alright?" he asked softly to the bloodied boy next to him. Sasuke didn't answer him, but Naruto already knew he would live. That is, only if he took him to Tsunade. Otherwise, he knew, Sasuke definitely would _not_ survive. But he did not dwell on the fact. "I'm going to take these kunai out now." He told his friend to prepare him for the pain. He grabbed two of them and pulled them out quickly; then two more; finally the last one. Naruto picked up his friend and carried him carefully to the Hokage's office.

Meanwhile, Sakura was watching in fear from afar. When she saw Naruto pick up Sasuke and walk off, she could not contain herself anymore. _Please be alright, Sasuke-kun! _She thought. She ran over towards the village but accidentally tripped on a huge rock she hadn't seen, falling straight on her face. When she hesitantly stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes, she noticed that peculiarly, the invisible people who had just turned visible, vanished again. She paused in fear. What was going on? She brought her hands up close to her face and panicked. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming slowly closer to her but when she turned around, she didn't see anybody.

"No!" she screamed. The footsteps stopped when they got _very_ close to her. "Please! Don't hurt me!" she screamed almost uncontrollably. Then she heard the enemy chuckle evilly, and felt one of them touching her shoulder.

"Why not, though? When you look so ready to die…" on of them whispered into her ear seductively.

"Because! I have to get back to my friends! They need me!" she shouted back.

"That's too bad. We already killed them. Why don't you join them?" another said.

"No! They aren't dead! I saw them leave!"

"Oh, you did?" she heard.

"Y… yeah…"

"Look again."

Sakura turned around and looked in the direction of the village when she saw Sasuke and Naruto lying unconscious on the ground. When she realized it was them, tears formed in the corners of both of her eyes. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head violently. "No! I don't believe it!" she screamed. She fell to her knees and cried.

"When you thought you saw your friends leave, that was actually a Genjutsu. You fell for it." One of the invisible freaks told her.

"See? Now don't you think it would be better if you died along with them?" another one suggested.

Sakura didn't reply. She sat there, unknowing if she was supposed to believe them or not.

"Should we take that as a yes?"

"Yes. She has no purpose in this world anymore. Let's kill her."

"Too bad… and all she got to do was watch her friends die. Oh well. No sympathy."

Sakura screamed and clenched her teeth. _I'm helpless again! If my teammates were here, I would just be in the way like usual… maybe I should just **let** them kill me. It would certainly get me out of the way, even if the bad guys are lying to me about them all being dead._ She thought. _Maybe this is what is best…_

**A/N: If any of you were wondering, Sakura cannot dispel Genjutsu in this fanfic. Just so you know. **


	11. Shout Out!

**Shout out!**

**Hewwo, people! I am sorry for the extremely long lag in the updating. I promise to update as soon as possible! Anyway, I would like to make a short shout out to ROCK LEE! YESTERDAY was his birthday! I, being one of the few people who absolutely LOVES Lee, am here to wish him a happy birthday! **

**From me and all of your other few fans: HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEE!**


	12. From Three to One

**Hey, people! Sorry for the late update! I… was just about to give you another excuse as to why this is so late, but then I realized that excuses always come across as stupid lies people tell to cover their laziness. Anyway, so that I do not waste any more of your precious fanfiction time, (and mine as well) here's the story.**

**Disclaimer: 1 d0 n07 pwn N412u70 (leet for: I do not own Naruto).**

**Chapter Eleven: From Three to One**

The silent yet resonating creak of a door closing somewhere not too far away caused one very suspicious blonde girl to awake. Footsteps were heard becoming farther and farther away with little time, followed by the ever-so familiar scent of strawberries.

Ino opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, hoping that the footsteps and the scent would return soon, for she knew exactly who they belonged to: her best friend since childhood, Sakura. What seemed like ten minutes had passed and still no return of her pink-haired friend. Ino began to wonder if she was alright. She sat up from her cot and brought her feet over to the side, so they just barely swept over the dusty floor.

Checking the other occupied cots in the room to see if anybody else had awoken, she let out a sigh of relief when she heard the pleasing sound of snoring from both of them, one louder than the other. Never in her life had she thought that she would feel so relaxed by the obnoxious reverberation of snoring. Slowly and quietly, she stood from her cot, avoiding the loud squeak she would most likely receive from the rusty, old springs. Thankfully, said squeak was not heard, and she shyly crept to the door.

Upon opening the door, she heard a rather unpleasing noise: the sound of her teammate, Chouji, snorting loudly, as one would if they were just about to wake up. Ino froze in her position, hoping she hadn't accidentally woken him up. Oh, how badly that would ruin her plan to go find and help Sakura. Though, she had to let out a sigh of relief and a short, silent chuckle when the snort was followed with, "no… not the last… (snort) chip… no!"

Silently, Ino closed the door behind her and walked down the corridor in the direction of the sound of footsteps she had heard before. Soon she reached the door she and her fellow ninja had entered the corridor through the previous day. _I hope you're alright, Sakura…_ she thought, setting her hand on the ladder. Just as she began to pull her body up onto the ladder, the door above her swung violently open and she fell off of the ladder, looking up.

Upon looking into the eyes of the person who forcefully opened the door, she realized who it was. "Shizune-san, what are you doing he-" she began as Shizune jumped into the corridor, sealing the door closed.

Jumping down, Shizune interrupted Ino. "I wouldn't go out there if I were you." The tone in her voice was very serious. "However, I need you to help me with something." Ino knew that it was important for her to listen.

"O- of course, what is it?" she asked her, disregarding the fact that Sakura was outside and Shizune sounded concerned.

"If you will, I need you to help me wake up your friends. You wake up your own teammates and I'll deal with the rest. I need to speak to you all. Got it?" she asked.

Ino nodded. "Yes." She replied and started quickly back down in the opposite direction, Shizune following her just inches behind. Ino stopped to walk when she reached the point just before her team's room. She quickly opened the door and turned on the light. She ran over to her still mumbling teammate, Chouji. She placed her hands on his shoulder as he lay on his side, back facing her, and shook him lightly. The only thing she got in reply was a grunt.

"Chouji…" she said quietly. He grunted in reply again. "Chouji!" this time she shouted. She felt his body twitch in a way that expressed that he was awake. "You need to get up. It's late, I know, but something's happened." He grunted again, but this time he seemed livelier than before.

Ino then walked over to Shikamaru. Placing a hand gently on his shoulder and lightly shaking him, she said, "Hey, Shikamaru, wake up."

Shikamaru opened his eyes. "Hai, hai, I know." He mumbled. Then, just as an afterthought, he subconsciously added, "troublesome woman…"

Ino walked toward the door of their room. "Okay, now get _up_ you two! Shizune-san has something important to say to all of us!" she shouted at them, almost as an order. Slowly yet surely, the two stood up and followed her to the door. "Oh, come _on!_ You guys can't be _that _tired, can you?" she said while the other two rubbed their eyes tiredly.

Shikamaru groaned under his breath and stumbled his way across the cold cement floor. When the three ninja made it out into the corridor, they noticed that Shizune had already awoken the others and was standing there waiting for them.

"Sorry, Shizune-san, these two were having a hard time getting up." Ino apologized. Shizune nodded and gestured a "don't worry about it". Ino and her team finally made it just to the group who waited patiently.

"I apologize for the interruption, all of you, but something rather important has come up and Tsunade-sama ordered me to inform you all of it." She paused to make sure that the half-asleep ninja were still listening. "You may have already noticed... that three of your comrades are absent at this time." She paused again, watching everybody look around to see who was gone.

"Two of them have been sent to the hospital, having major injuries, and the third one is discussing the matter with the Fifth." Everybody surrounding Shizune was now entirely awake when they heard the surprising news. They all widened their eyes.

"What happened!" Kiba shouted.

"Who got hurt? Team Kakashi isn't here… which of them are injured?" Tenten asked, seemingly concerned.

"I am sorry; I cannot say very much. As far as I am concerned, _none _of you are to leave unless Tsunade herself needs something from one of you. In that case she will most-likely come _here_ to get what she needs." She paused again and waited for a reply.

"What do we do when we need to use the bathroom?" Shikamaru mumbled.

"There's a bathroom on the next floor underneath this one. Over where the door is to get inside here, there is another door on the floor where you would normally step right over it, unknowingly. That door does not specifically need _my _chakra to open, but it does need chakra. That's the secret of the other doors in this area. The first one cannot be opened unless my chakra is used to open it, but after you get passed that one, anybody who can generate chakra into their hands can reach the next floors."

"What about food?" Chouji asked from behind Shikamaru.

"The food should be on the same floor, just in a different room." Shizune replied. She waited as the people around her mumbled about the current situation they were all unfortunate to be in. Finally when the mumbling stopped, she finished, "I should head back. Tsunade-sama needs me for something." She said walking away. Everybody that watched her walk away saw the puff of white smoke that followed her disappearing body.

oO. Konoha Hospital .Oo

"Follow me," Naruto heard from behind him as he sat impatiently in the waiting room of Konoha's local hospital. He stood up and turned around to follow Tsunade through the many hallways that would lead him to their destination.

Just about a minute had passed and Tsunade reached a door. Placing her hand on the doorknob, she turned her head to wait for Naruto to come. Shortly after, the short blond reached her and she opened the door, allowing him to walk inside first. He reluctantly walked into the hospital room and slowly approached his sleeping comrade.

Naruto crept up to Sasuke's bedside, as to not wake him up, and stared down at his peaceful face. _He really is beautiful…_ Naruto caught himself thinking. He lifted a hand slowly and lightly brushed the back of his fingers across Sasuke's soft, yet strangely cold cheek. He unwillingly removed his hand away from his friend's face and turned his body slightly to look up at Tsunade who was now standing beside him. In his eyes he held a questioning, concerned expression.

"Probably for only about a day or two. After that he'll be back to normal." Tsunade informed the concerned blond. Naruto nodded and averted his gaze back to Sasuke's sound face.

_I'm glad…_ he thought. _I'm glad that they didn't kill you before I got there. I honestly don't know what I would have done... _Naruto grew a weak smile while he still stared at his friend. It was nice for him to see Sasuke so calm for once.

"Come on. There's not much we can really do in a room with your sleeping friend. We don't want to wake him up." Tsunade said quietly.

Naruto nodded and turned around, hanging his head, and walked back out the door. Tsunade caught the boy's gesture and followed quickly behind him. As he turned the corner to walk away from the room, Tsunade caught up with him and gently rested a hand on his shoulder. He stopped walking but didn't turn around or say anything. He only sat and waited for Tsunade to say something.

"There's something else I want to show you." She said calmly, hoping he would follow her again. Naruto lifted his hand and softly pushed Tsunade's hand away from his shoulder, turning around. Tsunade smiled and walked the opposite direction, Naruto following her, eyes still focused on the floor.

Just moments later, they approached another door to which Tsunade opened and let Naruto walk through. He did so and as soon as he noticed who exactly was lying upon the hospital bed in the room, he ran over to her bedside.

"This time, it'll probably be for another eight or nine weeks," Tsunade said reluctantly to the blond, walking slowly up behind him, "until she can fully recover."

Naruto gazed at the pink-haired Kunoichi who lay silently with her eyes shut on the hospital bed. He smiled weakly. "Well at least she'll heal." He replied, his eyes gliding up and down her injured body.

"No joke." Tsunade replied. Her disposition was uncomfortably serious looking. Naruto raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to continue. "She's lucky." She added.

Naruto tilted his head slightly to one side. "Why?"

"Well, if it hadn't been for the ANBU finding her, she would have…" she paused, closing her eyes, "died."

Naruto's eyes widened and he looked back at Sakura. The clear plastic cup covering her nose and mouth to control her breathing finally registered in Naruto's brain. He then closed his eyes and hung his head. "I see." He waited for a good wholesome minute before he continued. "What happened?"

"Well, according to ANBU, they were wandering around on a mission when they came across Sakura lying bloodied and bruised on the ground. We only assume that the ones responsible for this are the ones who attacked your other teammate. She was unconscious when they found her so they immediately took her here. Just after they told us, I sent Shizune to tell the others about what happened with you and your teammates." She replied.

"Eight or nine weeks…" Naruto mused. "Is it safe for her to be here while the enemy is freely wandering around the village?" he asked.

"No. It isn't safe. Actually, _no body_ is safe in this village anymore. The only people who are are the people who have been evacuated into confined underground areas like the one you and your friends are staying in. That's pretty much everybody in the village, besides me, a few Jounin, and some highly trained ANBU members."

Naruto clenched his fists angrily. "By the time this is all over…" he said, voice slightly shaking. "A lot of people will be dead…" Tsunade and Naruto both sat quietly for another minute.

"You are going to have to take it from me, huh?" he asked her, his voice seemingly depressed.

"I- yeah…" Tsunade reluctantly replied.

"You are going to have to _kill_ me…" he rephrased the statement.

Tsunade didn't know how to answer. Yes. The answer was yes, but she couldn't say it to him. _Him _of all people. Though, she knew she couldn't lie, either.

"You should get back to your corridor and get some rest. I can tell that you haven't slept much recently."

"I'd like to stay with my teammates…"

"Kid, you have to go back. Those are direct orders from your Hokage."

Naruto groaned and turned around, heading for the door.

"Oi, Tsunade-obaachan… how am I going to get in?" he asked.

"Grab Shizune-san on your way there. She should be coming back right now so just ask her to let you in." she replied, watching him walk out the door.

"Hey, Naruto-kun!" she shouted. He stopped and waited for her to continue. Suddenly he felt something hit his head extremely hard and he fell flat on his face. In struggling to stand back up, he heard Tsunade shout from behind him, "Don't call me that!"

Naruto fixed a triumphant smile upon his face, attempting to rid the images of his teammates from his mind, and walked away. Just a moment had passed and he reached a door with the number one-hundred twelve etched into the wood. He stopped walking all together when he reached that door: the door that closed him away from his teammate; away from his comrade; away from his friend. He closed his eyes, set a hand gently on the door, and hung his head.

_Sasuke. I hope you'll be alright…_ he thought, just before he opened his eyes and walked out of the hospital.

**A/N: Sorry again for the late update. I hope you don't _all _hate me for it. -**


End file.
